The Transcendent and Giant of Fairy Tail
by zrocker119
Summary: He had lost everything. His friends, his family, even the place he called home was lost and all because a man wanted to play fucking god. In grief and anger, Ichigo created a tear in reality that enveloped him and Chad. After seven years of wandering through nothingness, they finally leave and step onto Earthland. Can the two move on and finally find a place to call home.
1. Chapter 1

**Zrocker119: So this is something that has been stewing in my mind for awhile now. The original idea was just for this story to be about Ichigo, but I decided to through Chad into the mix because he doesn't get enough love on this sight. Now I won't update this story often, only when I feel the need to take a break from my other stories. Anyway I hope you enjoy.**

 **Also, the Quincy half of Ichigo's powers will be referred to as Tensa and his Hollow/Shinigami is Zangetsu.**

 **Disclaimer** **: I do not own any of the character that appear within this story, with the exception of OC's. Everything else belongs the their respective creators.**

"Normal speech"

'thoughts'

 **"Tensa speech"**

 _ **"Zangetsu speech"**_

 **-The Transcendent of Fairy Tail-**

On the outskirts of Magnolia

Deep within the nearby forests of the bustling city of Magnolia all went silent. The animals, even the very wind that blew through the area stilled itself. What seems to be a crack appeared in the air between the trees. The sound of shattering glass is heard as the air seemed to break and fall apart, and revealed a black void. A bandaged hand reached out and grabbed the edge of air, as if it now had a solid form and someone pulled themselves out from the emptiness. The tear in space closed once two people were completely out.

The first person was definitely male, about 6ft1in, with a frame full of nothing but compact muscle and zero body fat. His hair was pitch black, seemingly absorbing all traces of light, and reached his waist, a stark contrast to his pale skin. Protruding from the left side of his head was a large, bull-like, white horn with a black seam that ran down the middle. A blue bandage-like carapace covered his torso, right arm, neck and over his nose and mouth in mask fashion. Black, flame-like markings spread across his chest and wrapped around his left arm, and lastly, the remains of a black cloak covered his lower body.

The other was also male and very tall, about 6ft7in and muscular. He's dark-skinned with pronounced cheekbones and has wavy brown hair with bangs that hangs over his eyes. On his left shoulder was a tattoo which reads Amore e Morte and consists of a heart with a snake and angel wings around it. He also has a small goatee on his chin.

His clothes were much more normal looking than his companions. He wore black pants, sneakers, a short-sleeved shirt with an open collar, and a brown coat with a fur lined hood. Lastly a medallion hung from a thin chain around his neck.

Once the tear in reality closed, the taller of the two immediately collapsed to the ground and entered the blissful state of unconsciousness.

The remaining man took a deep breath and opened his eyes, revealing that were two different colors. The right being red, while the left is a sickly yellow with the rest being black. The man does a full circle, taking in his surroundings.

"I-I did it." He said as tears came to his eyes, his voice breaking a bit. "I finally got us out of there!" His eyes dilate for a fraction of a second as an invisible ring of energy formed around him and shot outwards. In an instant he could feel the life energy of every living creature on the planet.

Falling to his hands and knees, the man lets the tears flow and turned to his fallen companion. "I finally did it, Chad." Cracks formed all along the bandages that covered his body before shattering. His long hair shed off and turned orange, now neck length and spiky, almost covering his eyes. He now wore a black shihakusho with white shoulder plates, that crossed over his chest in an X shape, the left one having three sections adorned in red scales. Tied around his waist was a white cloak with black markings

The shattered pieces of bandages turned into black energy and condensed into the form of a khyber knife variation, the inner part of the sword being black and has the handle fixed to it, while the base of the sword is slanted and the blade continues with a section jutting out from the underside as a guard. The handle is wrapped in white bandages and a few feet of black chain links hung from the bottom of the hilt.

The horn on his head broke apart and his skin became a normal peach color. The sword glowed once more before separating into two, one black and the other white.

The white sword was almost as long as he was tall and shaped like a khyber knife with the grip at the base of the blade and a handle extending from this about roughly the width of his forearm. There's a thin hollowed out portion that ran along the back edge of the blade, from the base to the middle.

The black sword was much smaller than its counterpart, but still the size of the mans arm. It was shaped like a trench knife that had an enclosed handle that served as the guard.

The man placed the larger blade on his back and the smaller at his waist, where the sheaths appeared to hold them in place. He then wiped the tears from his eyes, bent down and put one of his friends arms over his shoulder.

"Come on Chad, let-" He fell forward, joining Chad in unconsciousness.

* * *

"Faster Papa!" Alzack smiled lovingly down at his three year old daughter, Asuka. The two of them were currently riding his family's pet Hippogriff Smokey, named by Asuka due to her smokey grey feathers and hair, over the woods near their home.

"What do you say Smokey, can you go a little faster?" The eagle horse hybrid cawed in response whilst she picked up speed. Asuka shouted in glee and hugged Smokey's neck to keep herself from falling off. The father daughter duo were enjoying the moment when a feeling of what can only be described as a tingle shot up their spines. It's only for a split second but it's enough to cause Smokey to stop and flap her wings in a frightened state.

"Smokey!?" Alzack pets the beast's neck in an effort to calm her down as her head jerked around as if she was trying to find something. After several moments the Hippogriff finally settled down. "What is it girl? Is there something nearby?"

Smokey looks down below them. Following her gaze, Alzack could barely see the outline of a person that peeked out from between the treeline. Nugging Smokey's sides he has her descend until they landed a few meters away from what turned out to be not one, but two downed figures.

Seeing the sword on one of their back's Alzack went on guard. "Stay on Smokey, Asuka." He said as he hopped down and rushed the strangers, one hand close to his pistol. He kneeled down and flipped them over to reveal that they were both young men, one probably a year or two younger than himself while the other seemed a little older. "Hey," He shook both their shoulders in an attempt to wake them but to no avail.

Biting his cheek Alzack cursed to himself. From what he could see they don't seem to be injured, but even if they're strangers he couldn't bring himself to leave them out here. Making up his mind, Alzack called Smokey over.

After several minutes of trial and error Alzack managed to secure the unconscious men onto Smokey's back. Once on himself he nudged Smokey along, "Smokey, home!" The beast caws and took to the air, the added weight slowed her significantly but she flew regardless.

* * *

Opening his eyes the man found himself lying on his back, underneath a thick set of blankets and staring at a ceiling. Sitting up he looked around, seeing that he's in a moderately sized bedroom, almost completely barren except for a single desk, nightstand, chair,window and the bed he was currently in. He sighed in relief as he spied his swords leaned up against the wall opposite of him.

He looked down at himself and noticed that he had been stripped down to his boxers

'What happened?' Closing his eyes he turns his senses within himself and found that his reserves of spiritual pressure were almost empty. 'I knew that shattering the boundaries between dimensions would leave me a bit drained but I wasn't expecting this much of my power to be gone.' From what he could feel it would take months for his power to return fully.

It then hit him that his best friend was nowhere to be seen, "Chad!"

The sound of movement brought his attention to the door which had just been opened. He was caught completely off guard to see just what peaked its head in.

She was a small girl of about three with long, dark green hair tied into a small ponytail. She had purple eyes and perpetual blush on her cheeks. On her head sat a orangish-yellow cowgirl hat. All in all, she looked like a overly adorable cowgirl.

She must not have expected him to be awake as she froze once she noticed that he was no longer laying down, but sitting up. The two stared at eachother for a few moment before the man raised his hand and gave a small wave.

"Hi." He said, his voice had a slight rasp to it

The girl smiled and waved back. Pulling back she cried out. "Mama! The strange man is done napping!"

The sounds of approaching footsteps is heard and a moment later the door opens completely. Standing next to the girl is a young woman, presumable the girl's mother. She's very beautiful with long, straight green hair that reached down to her lower back. The lower section of her hair was tied into a thick braid and a set of long bangs framed her face. She has brownish purple eyes, and wore red lipstick. The man also couldn't help but notice that she had a curvaceous body with large breasts, slim waist and shapply hips.

Her attire was rather skimpy, consisting of a revealing bikini top covered in dark stripes below an open, dark buttoned vest. A similarly colored skirt adorned by a series of light strips hanging down from it in the middle part covered her lower body, whilst a pair of high-heeled cowgirl boots decorated by matching strips are on her feet. Also present are a set of armbands that circled her biceps, paired by darker, simple long bands around her wrists. On her head was a cowgirl hat with a curved-up brim, adorned by a lighter-colored band covered in large studs

In his younger years the man would've been a sputtering mess at the woman's choice of clothing, but after all he has seen and done, he could care less about her sense of style. He was just glad to see other people.

The woman offered him a kind smile. "Glad to see that you're awake."

"Where am I? How did I get here? Where's my friend?!" He managed to ask before he broke into a fit of coughs. The woman disappeared down the hall for a moment before returning with a glass of water in hand. Handing it to him he downed the whole thing in less than a second. "Thank you." He said, his voice sounded much better than before.

"You're welcome." She sat in the only chair and put her daughter on her lap before speaking. "To answer your questions though, you're in my house and you were found unconscious in the nearby forest by my husband and daughter."

"Smokey carried you on her back!" The girl shouted happily.

"That she did." The woman said, tickling her daughter a bit which made the child giggle. "That was three days ago. As for your friend Chad, he woke the other day and just stepped out to get some fresh air."

The woman smacked herself lightly on the forehead, "Sorry I forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Bisca Connell and this is my baby girl Asuka."

"Hi!" Was Asuka's response.

The man's permanent frown cracked as he chuckled quietly at the girls bubbly nature.

"I'm Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo greeted with a small bow of his head. "Thank you very much for taking care of my friend and I, Bisca-san."

His formal action caused the mother to giggle, "Please, it's just Bisca. Adding san just makes me feel old."

Footsteps could be heard coming from down the hall. A moment later and Chad stood in the doorway, looking no worse for wear.

"Ichigo," The giant closed the distance between them and held out his hand, "Glad to see that you're finally awake."

Ichigo clasped his hand with Chad's, "Glad to be awake. Find out anything interesting while I was out?"

He received a nod, "Feel the air."

Knowing what he meant, Ichigo reached out with his senses and notices a strange energy in the air. Not only that, but the energy was also coming from Bisca and Asuka as well. It was similar to spiritual pressure yet at the same time, completely different.

Ichigo turned to two of their hosts and asked them one question, "Where are we exactly?"

* * *

'So we ended up in a world where 10% of the world's population is capable of using magic.' Ichigo couldn't help but shake his head in amusement. At least he and Chad wouldn't have to hide their powers.

After Ichigo and Chad talked with Bisca for the better part of an hour, she invited them to come with her and her daughter to their guild, Fairy Tail. Feeling that enough of his strength had come back for a simple walk, Ichigo agreed to come along .

After getting dressed in his clothes that had been taken and washed by Bisca and securing both Zangetsu, the group of of four were well on their way. Along the way Asuka had asked Chad if she could ride on his shoulders.

Before Bisca could tell her daughter that it was rude to ask them that, Chad had plucked the tiny girl up, making her cry in glee and set her on his shoulders. The sight of her daughter happy and a reassuring nod from the quiet man caused any protest to die.

After a rather lengthy walk that took them through the forest and up a large hill, the group arrived at a building that looked like it had seen better years. Undeterred by its outside appearance they went inside.

The inside was rather humbling. There was a bar, a few table and a board with papers near one of the walls. There were a handful of people inside, but Bisca led them toward a man with dark hair and a poncho.

"Papa!" Asuka called from her high perch.

"Hey baby girl." Alzack picked her up off of Chad's shoulders and gave her a kissed her cheek. While she giggled he turned his attention to the newest faces. ", Hey Chad, I see that your friend's finally awake." He held out his hand. "I'm Alzack."

Ichigo shook it, "Ichigo Kurosaki. Bisca told me that you were the one that found and brought us to your house," He gave him a small bow. "Not everyone would willingly help a stranger, let alone two, with nothing but good intentions. You have my thanks. Don't hesitate to ask us for a favor." Chad grunted in agreement

Alzack looked slightly uncomfortable at his declaration. "Now now, there's no need for all of that. I couldn't call myself a member of Fairy Tail if I extorted someone I helped out."

Ichigo straightened back up and nodded. "Okay, but should you ever change your mind our offer still stands."

"Hey Alzack," A older looking man with dark blue hair called out, "Aren't you going to introduce the new guys?"

The new guys in question turned to face the man. "Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo jabbed a thumb at his friend. "The big guy here is Yasutora Sado, but feel free to call him Chad."

"Why Chad?"

"Ichigo's terrible at remembering names and kept mispronouncing mine." Chad said as bluntly as possible. "He just started calling me Chad because it was easier. I didn't mind."

Ichigo looked more than a bit sheepish as he rubbed his neck.

"Haha, well it's nice to meet you Ichigo, Chad. I'm Macao Conbolt, the fourth guild master of Fairy Tail. Come take a seat." Macao gestured for them each to take a stool "Hey Kinana, can you fetch some drinks for our friends here please?"

"Sure thing." The shapply, purplette reached beneath the counter and pulled out a mug for each of them.

Ichigo scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "Thanks but we don't have any money."

Macao waved his reason off. "Then it's on the house, now come sit. My usually drinking buddy is out on a request and I don't like drinking alone."

Seeing as how they weren't going to convince the olderman to change his mind, the tuo accepted the seats offered. Now seated Kinana slid them their drinks. "Thank you." The both said and each took a drink.

"So, what are you going to do now that you're both up and moving about?"

The two dimension hoppers shared a look before shrugging, "Don't really know," Ichigo stared into his cup, "We no longer have a home to return to so We've just been traveling for the past 7 years." He left out the fact that they had no contact with anyone during that period of time.

It was only due to Ichigo's immense power acting as a barrier that Chad was even able to make take the journey at all. While powerful in his own right, he just wasn't built to handle the void between the dimensions without help.

"So you guy's lost your homes aye. Well you two wouldn't be all that out of place if you decide joined Fairy Tail." Macao said with a knowing smile. "We may not have the former glory that came with our golden years, but we'll gladly accept another member into our family. That's what being in this guild is all about after all!"

Ichigo eyes seemed to hollow at the mention of family, as he thought back to the one that was robbed from him. "I-" What ever he was about to say was interrupted by the guilds doors being kicked open and sent flying off of the hinges.

"Knock knock Fairy Tail!" From the doorway walked in a group of rough looking men strolled in, the one in from being the one that spoke.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?!" Macao asked through grit teeth as the rest of the guild members gathered around him.

"Well you see," began the front guy with green hair in the form of a mohawk, clearly the leader of the group, "The boys and I are throwing a party but it would seem that we ran out of food and booze. So seeing that you owe us, I figured that we would take yours."

"We already paid your guild this month, and barely have enough to keep ourselves fed as it is." Macao shook his head, "We can do without the alcohol but the food needs to stay."

Mohawk guy didn't seem satisfied with his answer. "We thought you say something like that, so we brought this along to give you all some proper motivation." One of the men reached behind them and shoved something to the floor. It was a young boy with dark purple hair. He's bruised pretty badly and his clothes are torn.

"Romeo!" Macao rushed forward along with the others to retrieve his son, but are stopped when one of the men put a club near the boys head.

"Now now, let's not do anything we're gonna regret." Spoke the lead thug with a sickening smirk.

"You bastards!" Cried the young woman with long lavender hair.

"Now, we're gonna give you five minutes to bring us every little bit of-"

Ichigo and Chad, up till this point, had yet to move from their stools by the bar had with their backs facing everything. Having had enough, Ichigo finished his drink and slammed in on the counter, not hard enough to break the mug, but succeeded in catching everyone's attention.

He stood up and said to the intruders with a dull look, "I'm feeling in a particularly good mood right now, so I'll let you off with a warning. Either you leave now, or I'll make you."

The thug leader took exception to that, "Oh, and who the hell do you think you are telling us what to do, carrot top." He said while approaching Ichigo and getting right in his face. It was at this point that Chad stood up as well and the thug found himself sweating as the giant stared him down.

Ichigo doesn't even look remotely amused and responded by raising his hand, curled his middle finger. He then made a flicking motion...and the man suddenly wasn't there anymore. Only a whooshing sound is heard, followed by a loud crash as a human shaped hole appears in the wall to the right of the entrance.

The thugs jaws practically drop as they could barely made out the prone form of their boss as he laid face down in the dirt several hundred meters away. The members of Fairy Tail were equally shocked. Not even their top guild members could send a person flying that far with what looked like a half assed flick of a finger.

"Just some guy and his friend that we're thinking about joining the guild you guys are harassing," Ichigo continued speaking like nothing happened, "Leave now," He pointed at the rest of the thugs with the very same finger that just incapacitated their leader and curled it again, "Or I'll actually put some effort into the next one."

When the thugs just stood there frozen, Ichigo flexed his finger in preparation. This caused them to break out of their stupor and finally process what had just happened. The man that brandished the club roared in anger. Charging Ichigo he brought his weapon up for a heavy, two-handed strike, only for it to be halted by a dark-skinned hand.

Chad applied pressure to it, casually turning the club into splinters before punching thug two in the face. The punch had the same effect at Ichigo's flick, launching the man along the same path as his boss. The rest of the men eyed the two with new found fear in their eyes.

A few second of silence pass and then Chad said in perfect monotone, "Boo."

The effect was instantaneous as the thugs collectively shit themselves and took off running.

* * *

A week had past and since Ichigo and Chad had come to the guild. Twilight Ogre, the guild the thugs were apart of, had yet to retaliate for the beating that two of their members had received. No doubt to the fact the the ones responsible had yet to leave.

They were going to be waiting awhile because the dimension hoppers had decided to join Fairy tail. Ichigo had gotten his mark placed on his chest, right above his heart, black in color. Chap had opted to get his in dark green on his right shoulder.

They integrated pretty will into guild life, they got along with everyone in the guild with Romeo and Asuka taking a special liking to them. Romeo would always ask to fight with them all the time while Asuka just wanted to play with her, as she put it, big brothers.

All in all, it was a nice change of pace for the two.

The two had yet to go out on requests yet, choosing to help out around the guild until they had recovered more from their hazardous journey. They kept themselves busy by doing maintenance on the building, Chad's experience from working in construction helped immensely. Now the hall looked like it wouldn't collapse in on itself if a storm came by.

Nothing needed to be done at the moment so Ichigo took the time to sit outside and meditate. His Zangetsu's sat in his lap and he seemed oblivious to the world around him.

"Why does Ichi-nii keep doing that," Asked Romeo as he "helped" Chad with some warm up exercises. Chad was shirtless and currently carrying a boulder that was about the size of an average house on his back while doing squats.

Romeo was "helping" by sitting on top of the rock.

"He's trying to speed up the process of regaining his energy," Chad barely grunted as finished his squats, threw the boulder into the air, Romeo along with it, leapt into a handstand and caught in with his feed. Romeo landed back on top without harm as Chad proceeded to balance the boulder while doing handstand pushups.

"But he's been doing it for several hours already." Romeo watched as orange-haired man didn't even seem to breath, even when Asuka went up to him and climbed onto his back. It was a cute sight to behold.

Finished with his workouts for now, Chad sent the boulder into the air once more and stood up. Without any trouble, the fullbringer caught and set it down with hardly a sound. Romeo slid down the side to ground level.

"The way we traveled here took a lot out of Ichigo," Chad explained, "He told me that he wouldn't be back to full strength for a least another three months." He walked and took Asuka off of Ichigo's back, placing her on his shoulder.

The young mage's eyes bugged out. "Really! Ichi-nii much be really strong if it's taking so long to come back." Chad just nodded as he led to two youngest members inside, leaving Ichigo to his meditation.

* * *

Ichigo sat on one of the many building within his inner world with one leg dangling lazily over the edge. The place had seen better days, with the majority of it submerged in water. The normally blue sky had been taken over with thick, dark clouds that threatened to rain at any moment.

 _ **"I really fucking hate this place when it's like this,"**_ Ichigo didn't react as the hollow/shinigami half of his powers stood beside him. The inverted version of himself was dressed exactly like Ichigo and for once, didn't seem to want to kill anything.

 **"In this we find common ground,"** Spoke the ever calm and collected Quincy half, who too stood beside their wielder. The Trio watched as the water flowed through the world below their perch.

After several moments of silence, the Quincy half spoke, **"You and Chad have been given an extraordinary chance Ichigo."**

"I know Oldman," Ichigo was more than aware of how lucky the two of them were to find this world, even more so to be taken in by such selfless people, "I just wish that the others could be here with us." Despite having come to terms with the events that had happened seven years ago, Ichigo still felt guilt for not saving everyone.

 _ **"Stop thinking like that Kingy or I'll have to beat the everliving shit out of you!"**_ Growled Zangetsu. _**"We're the most powerful Shinigami to ever fucking exist, yet one being can only do so much!"**_

With a heavy sigh Ichigo stood to face his Zanpakuto Spirits. "I know," He looked the two directly with determination in his eyes. "That's why I need my powers to be restored as soon as possible. So I'll be ready should another like Yhwach show themselves."

 **"We are doing all we can to speed up the restoration process Ichigo,"** Said Tensa, **"But even so it will take time."**

 _ **"About another three months,"**_ Zangetsu clarified, _ **"So until then try and,(sigh) I can't believe I'm saying this, try and s-st-st-sta-"**_

 **"Try and avoid trouble,"** Finished Tensa after seeing that his more violent half struggle to even say the words. **"While your body is strong, we don't know what fighters this world hold. People like Yhwach and Aizen could be common place here."**

Zangetsu had fallen to his knees in depression and was now tracing circles in the windows, ** _"I couldn't bring myself to say it. I can't even comprehend the notion of not fighting."_**

"Be careful, got it." Nodded Ichigo as he faded from his inner world.

Tensa looked towards the cloudy sky, silently praying that it wouldn't rain anytime soon.

 **-END-**


	2. Chapter 2

**Zrocker119: Sup everybody! That's right, I haven't forgotten about this story. How could I after getting such a positive response from just the first chapter? Regardless here's chapter two, hope you enjoy!**

 **Start**

Today most of the guild could be found outside. The sky was mostly clear with only a few clouds to provide shade from the sun. It was a perfect day to throw a little barbecue. Ichigo had decided to take a break from his daily meditations and was manning the grill, while Chad helped out with setting up the tables.

"So Ichigo," The orangette looked up from the grill to Wakaba who had stopped beside him, "It's been about a month since you and Chad showed up. When are one of you going to go out on a request?"

Ichigo blinked. He hadn't realized that they had already been in this dimension for that long. Had it really been a month? It felt like it way just the other day that they had awoken here.

"Yeah, Ichi-nii," Romeo said as he finished setting out the plates. "With how strong you and Chad-nii are, I bet you could go on an S-class request!"

Throwing some food on the grill Ichigo asked, "S-class. Are those harder job's or something?"

"They're requests that are deemed too dangerous for ordinary wizards," Wakaba took a drag from his cigar, "So only wizards that are given the rank of S-class can take them. Just one request pays a few million jewels on average, but over the last few years we haven't gotten anything higher than C-rank."

Ichigo let out a "hmmm" as he continued to cook food. He was still recuperating from the journey so he had opted out of doing any work that didn't include helping out around the guild. But if the job was easy enough he should be fine. "I guess I could go and take a job. So long as it isn't too difficult."

"Can I come," Romeo asked excitedly, giving his brother figure the best pair of puppy eyes that he could muster. Too bad for him though, Ichigo once had a younger sister that was an absolute master of the technique, so he had developed a resistance to it.

"That's up to your dad." Ichigo turned towards Macao for confirmation.

Macao thought about it for a moment before nodding, "So long as it's not dangerous."

"Yes!" Romeo leapt with joy, almost knocking one of the tables over.

Ichigo smiled lightly as the kids excitement.

 **"Ichigo,"** Tensa spoke up from within his mind, **"Zangetsu and I have been discussing your situation, and we believe we've discovered a way for you to regain your strength faster."**

'Why do I feel a but coming along,' Ichigo responded dryly as he started flipping burgers.

 _ **"Because there is,"**_ Zangetsu growled out, _**"You'll have to seal us away."**_

'But the two of you are already in a sealed state though.'

 **"True we aren't in a state of Bankai, but we're still in Shikai."** Tensa explained, **"Even though it takes a minimal amount of energy to maintain-"**

 _ **"It still take energy regardless,"**_ Zangetsu interrupted, **_"And that's energy that could be conserved in order to help regain your full power. Once you're back to 100% , then we can go back to Shikai like nothing ever happened."_**

'Can I even seal you two,' Ichigo asked. He had never done it before, not once since originally regaining Shikai. Hell, even when he regained his powers from the sword Kisuke created, Zangetsu had already been unsealed.

 ** _"With the amount of energy your currently emitting, definitely. I mean your practically back to when you fought Kenpachi for the first time."_** The battle crazed half of his Zanpakuto commented dryly. **_"Compared to what your capable of now, that's weak shit!"_**

Tensa sighed at his other halfs casual dismissal of their wielders weakened state, **"This could also be used as an opportunity to refine your reishi control. While leagues above what it once was, there's room for improvement."**

 ** _"He means your control is still shit,"_** Cackled Zangetsu, still finding much amusement at his wielders extent. **_"If it weren't for the two of us having to constantly regulate the flow of your reishi, you wouldn't be able to sense any kind of energy do to your own getting in the way."_**

'I get it,' Ichigo nearly shouted out loud, but managed to hold it in. No need to have everyone thinking he was crazier than he already was. He dragged a hand down his face and sighed, 'If it will help, then go ahead and do it.'

 _ **"Got it**_ / **Very well."**

A sudden flash of blue light blanketed the area. It wasn't blindingly bright but it was enough to get everyone's attention. As the light faded, the source was revealed to have been Ichigo.

His clothes had changed significantly. He now wore a white undershirt beneath his black shihakushō, which was now open and held together by three X-shaped marks. It split into three coattails with jagged ends. Ichigo's hands and forearms are covered by black gloves, with white X-shaped marks appear on both the gloves and his forearms.

Another noticeable change was that his swords were no longer present. Replacing them was a daito, though the blade is much longer than normal, and became more curved as it neared the tip, with three protrusions along the blunt end of the sword close to its tip. The tsuba was manji-like in shape and only curved and jagged.

The blade was certainly too long to be secured comfortably at the waist and was instead sheathed across Ichigo's back and secured by a red, rosary-like strap.

"Hm," Ichigo mused as he looked himself over with a slight amount of surprise. These were the clothes he used to don when he entered his false Bankai. "didn't expect that to happen."

"What the heck just happened," Romeo asked no one in particular. "And why is Ichi-nii wearing different clothes?" It was almost like seeing Erza use her requip magic only there was no magic circle.

"Hm," Ichigo looked up, just now noticing all of the attention that was on him. He rubbed his head sheepishly, looking pretty embarrassed. "Sorry about that, just testing something."

While the other were trying to figure out what he meant by that, Chad realized right away what had happened. The reishi that constantly leaked out of Ichigo was now little more than a drizzle. If it wasn't for the fact that he was used to the presence of Ichigo's energy than he wouldn't have noticed.

 _ **"There,"** _Zangetsu began, though he seemed annoyed for some reason, _ **"That's the best we could do. With us like this, your recovery time should've at least been cut by a few weeks."**_

 **"That's is a safe estimate,"** agreed Tensa, **"Though I believe it would be a good idea to maintain this state as often as possible."**

 _ **"Fuck that!"** _Zangetsu was having none of that, **_"I fucking hate being restrained like this. Reminds me too much of back then."_** He said, referring back to the time when Ichigo believed him to be nothing more than a hollow that lived within his soul.

 **"You have ample reason to be upset, but think of it like this. In this state Ichigo is much weaker, meaning that anyone he fights can prove to us whether or not their worthy of our true strength."** Tensa said, trying to play to Zangetsu's competitiveness and lust to fight stronger opponents.

 _ **"...The funny thing is that I know that you're playing me...but your right."**_ Ichigo could practically feel the smugness in his Zanpakuto's voice. **_"I'll go along with it, but there better be some strong as hell people here!"_**

With that said Ichigo let himself get dropped from the conversation and returned his attention back to the food, which amazingly he didn't manage to burn throughout his mental conversation.

"Foods done!"

* * *

For the next several months everything proceeded as normal, with the addition of Ichigo and Chad now taking on requests to better understand the world they were quickly coming to see as home.

Due to Ichigo sealing his Shikai, his powers had returned at a much faster rate, having come back completely a few weeks later. By sparring with Chad the two were able to gadge that even with his power sealed, Ichigo was as powerful as when he had his final clash with Ginjo Kugo.

After several weeks dozens of requests the duo were able to save up enough money to afford a place of their own. It took a lot of effort with the usual reward given for C-ranked jobs, but it was worth it in the long run. Their new home was a simple two storied house. It had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen that doubled as a dining area and a living room with a few pieces of furniture.

Life was starting to look up for the two, but they knew was always a matter of time before something happened that would try and beat them into the dirt. But should history try and repeat itself they would be ready it this time, for Chad and Ichigo refused fall into despair.

Upon entering the guild hall, Ichigo took not of the gloomy mood that had settled over the place. Everyone was present with a forlorn look with the Chad, Romeo, Bisca and Asuka being the only exceptions. The group of four had left the other day to go on a request and had yet to return.

Alzack, Macao, Jet and Droy seemed to be in the middle of packing bags. The orange-haired man approached them with a wave.

"Hey guy's," Ichigo greeted, "What's going on? Everyone seems to be depressed. Did those assholes from before return?" His eyes hardened just a bit at the end. If those guy's tried something while him and Chad were gone.

"No nothing like that," Macao said with a sigh, "it's just that time of the year again." All he received from their newest member was a questioning look. It was at that moment the everyone realized that they never took Ichigo or Chad what had transpired five years ago today.

"Shit, I forgot we never told you." Wakaba scratched at his beard, "Hey Reedus, mind grabbing those pictures you drew?"

The guilds resident painter nodded and left the room, returning a few moments later with a stack of papers. Ichigo looked through them, finding them to be very well done painting of people he had never seen before.

"Who are they?"

"They were the strongest members of our guild." Macao seemed to age ten years as he sat on one of the stools. "Five years ago, they all left to participate in that years S-class trial exam. They were attack by the dragon of the apocalypse, Acnologia. The island was completely destroyed and no survivors were found."

"Every year we rent a boat to see if we can find some signs as to whether or not they somehow survived," Alzack mood noticeably sombered as he spoke his next words, "of if we can find any remains to bring clouser."

Ichigo kept looking through the pictures, but came to a stop when he came to what looked like a group of siblings. All of them had white hair and blue eyes, with the exception of the brother whose eyes were dark.

As he looked at the picture, the image was replaced by him, him sisters and father. Closing his eyes, Ichigo forced down the tears that threatened to spill and set the paintings on the bar.

"...When do we leave," their heads shot up in surprise at his question. Macao went to speak but Ichigo silenced his protest with a sharp glare. "I know more than anyone what it's like to lose the ones that you love," an image of a beautiful woman with long, burnt orange hair and a dazzling smile flashed before his eyes. "But I at least take comfort in knowing that they've past on."

He looked them all in the eyes, determination shining through his brown orbs, "allow me to help all of you recieve that same comfort."

Macao stared him down for a few moments before shaking his head, a fond smile wistful smile played his lips. 'Ichigo… you would've gotten along with them all so well.' He looked towards the determain man and nodded, "We leave in an hour."

* * *

Hundreds of miles away in the capital city of Crocus, the group of Fairies walked through the city. They had finished the delivery they that was detailed in the request and were now on their way to the train station to catch a ride home.

"Man, that request was too easy," complained Romeo. When Chad asked if he wanted to go on a request he had been hoping that there would've been some action involved, maybe assist in the apprehension of a dangerous criminal or something of the sort. But he should've known that wouldn't be the case when Bisca and little Asuka tagged along, cause there was no way in hell Chad would've let small child come along on a dangerous job.

"This place is so big," Asuka stated in wonder and amazement, her innocent eyes took in the many buildings as she held her mother's hand.

"It sure is sweetie," As Bisca looked around, Chad noticed the slightly worried glint in her eyes.

"Something wrong," His deep voice startled the mother out of her thoughts.

She sent him a reassuring look though it didn't reach her eyes. "Everything's fine. It's just that...the last time I was here with everyone...things didn't go well."

Chad may not know what happened but he could see that she was uncomfortable to talk about it. He nodded in understanding and dropped the subject. They walked in silence for a few more minutes, when Chad noticed a restaurant another block down.

The gentle giant gestured toward it and asked spoke one word, "Hungry?"

"Starving," Romeo all but shouted. Asuka held her tummy to show that she was hungry as well, earning a laugh from her mother and a slight smile from Chad. With that settled the group entered the restaurant, with Chad having to duck slightly in order to get through the door.

After being seated at a booth and ordering the group waited for their food to arrive. The place wasn't too crowded so it wasn't too much longer that they were happily chowing down. Romeo ate in a way that was similar to that of a starved animal, food just disappearing down his gullet. Aslack was a bit messy but she was three so it was expected. Being the adults that they were Chad and Bisca ate at a pace that was expected of them.

They were about done with their meal then the door opened and Bisca froze. She snapped out of it a second later but that was more than enough time for Chad to notice. When the food was all gone and they had paid, Chad took the opportunity to see just who had caused the cowgirl to freeze up.

Now seated near the entrance was a group of about ten people. Chad noticed that they all bore the same guild mark, which took the shape of a large fanged animal. One of them was looking in their direction.

After a moment the Fairies got up to leave and were just out the door, when one the one that had been looking at them spoke up.

"Hey hold up," wondering what the man could want Chad was about to do just that when he caught a pleading gaze from Bisca. They held each other's gaze for a moment before Chad nodded and kept going for the door. The sound of scraping chairs reached their ears, but the group kept going just the same.

It wasn't until one of them had gotten up and ran in front of them, blocking the exit that the four finally stopped. The man gave them all a look before his eyes settled on Bisca.

"Yeah, I know you," The man looked to be about eighteen, nineteen years old with pitch black hair and grey eyes. He slightly taller than Bisca a pretty muscular and was dressed casually. "You were in last years grand magic games. You were on Fairy Tail's team."

At the mention of fairy tail, one of the seated members laughed.

"Oh wow, you guys are still around." The one at the table stated, "I thought you would have finally disbanded after how thoroughly we trashed you lot."

"So why are you still around," the barring their path asked.

Chad stood before the man who had to crane his neck more than a bit to meet the giants gaze. "Just finishing up a request. Now please move."

Despite the size difference between them, the man didn't appear to be intimidated at all. "But you see we don't really care-"

The man was cut off as Chad grabbed the top of his head with one hand, lifted, and set him to the side. "Thank you." And with the the giant ushered his group out of the building, leaving behind the baffled group.

The one that was moved stood where he was place. His face went through an arrange of emotions before he settled on one as he turned to follow after the group. Anger.

The ground below him flashed blue and the man blurred in the direction of the Fairies, appearing before them in an instant.

"Do you know who I am," the man question, not all that happy about being manhandled like a small child.

"No," Chad's blunt answer threw the man through a loop but he quickly recovered.

"I'm Vicub, ranked as the 9th strongest in Sabertooth! The strongest guild in the country!" Vicub declared with a passion, expecting the mountain of a man to show some form of recognition.

"Never heard of you," Chad responded as bluntly as possible, "now, please move aside so that we can return home."

The man looked close to blowing up in anger but calmed himself down and smirked. "Oh no, you don't get to just walk away after manhandling me like that."

"But you were in our way," Romeo argued, "we just wanted to leave."

"Shut up you brat," Vicub snapped. "You fairy weaklings came into our city and were gonna leave without paying us the proper respect."

"We not weak," Asuka perked up, "we strong, espelly big brothers. "

"It's pronounced especially, Asuka." Corrected Chad but gave her a thumbs up for trying, a gesture she returned with big smile.

The man nearly rounded on the girl but stopped as Bisca spoke. "Chad," she pleaded, "let's just leave. Before something happens."

Looking around Chad noticed that a crowd had started to form around them, no doubt drawn by the commotion Vicub was making. The Giant nodded and started to walk around the man, when a hand grabbed his wrist.

"You're not going anywhere," Vicub stated as the ground beneath him glowed. The Sabertooth member disappeared from view. Chad spied him several meters away on a roof top before disappearing again on the opposite one.

"You humiliated me in front of my guildmates," his voice seemed to come from everywhere as he kept appearing all over the place.

Chad glanced down and noticed a glowing blue arrow on the ground where Vicub first stood. Following it he saw it pointed to the spot he had first disappeared to, which also had a glowing arrow. With a shake of his head he looked toward Bisca and motioned for her and the kids to stand back. She looked ready to argue but with a sigh she relented.

Chad waited until they were back with the growing crowd before turning back to the man who was still moving around the area. He noticed the Vicub was getting faster and faster each time he would reappear. From the looks of it, the speed he gets from his arrows stacked with the last previous ones each time he appeared.

"Now you pay the pric-" Chad spun around as Vicub appeared behind him with a foot raised for a kick. The Sabertooth member had a split second to realize that the 'weakling' had been keeping up with him the whole time before a large, tanned fist connected with his cheek.

With a thunderous crash Vicub slammed into the cobblestone, lying unconscious in a crater. Chad straighten up and lazily rolled his shoulder. A cheer could be heard as Romea leapt into the air. Asuka followed his example by clapping her hands.

Bisca was having a hard understanding what she just saw. If Vicubs declaration was anything to go by, than he was within the same range that the others had been before their disappearance. And Chad was able to track and disable him with just strength and skill.

Not only that but Chad had stated multiple times that Ichigo was in a multitude of times stronger than he was. With that in mind, Bisca couldn't help but wonder just how strong the two of them truly were.

Thinking about all this just ended up giving the mother a headache and let out an exhausted sigh. 'At least everything was fine now,' Bisca thought with a smile.

Chad shot them a thumbs up. The gathered crowd whispered amongst themselves as the giant made his way towards his guildmates. The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight as he spun around and raised his arms in a block.

He was just in time to block a pale-skinned fist that sent him skidding several meters back. Lowering his arms Chad was able to get a look at the person that tried to land the sneak attack.

It a pale-skinned, very massive and heavily muscular man, that possessed an extremely well built torso and arms to match. To Chads confusion however, the man's legs were normal in size, and therefore look quite miniscule when compared to his massive upper body.

He had long, spiky, shoulder-length light green hair with two long spikes that fell on either side of his face. The rest was kept back by a plain black headband over his forehead.

Most of the man's muscular upper body was left exposed as his clothing only consists of a light, striped pair of pants, with a large, fur-rimmed, tiger-patterned cloth secured around his waist by a plain light band. He also wore dark armbands with light edges circling his massive forearms, each bearing a pair of small furry balls on its outer side, near the hand, and dark shoes with light soles, sporting similarly light, simple elongated motifs on their upper part. Encircling his massive neck are three golden-colored, plain ornamental rings.

"O-orga," Vicub said as he got up his crater. "I-I can explain."

"The master won't be happy when he hears about this defeat," the now named Orga started with a neutral tone.

"Th-the bastard caught me off guard," defends Vicub, but was ignored by the other sabertooth member.

"Chad, we need to leave." Bisca said as she pulled Romeo and Asuka behind her. The crowd moved even further back, thoroughly separating themselves from the lesser guild members.

"Sorry but I can't let you leave without at least teaching you a lesson," Orga stated as a yellow and black aura enveloped him until it took on the form or black lightning.

Romeo moved to step forward but Chad held out his arm, stopping the boys progression. A liquid enveloped his arm and solidified into some kind of armor. His arm was now black with an intricate design that was magenta in color. A large flat plate extended from his shoulder.

"A partial take-over," questioned Bisca spoke out loud. This was the first time anyone had seen Chad display any of his magical capabilities as all they had seem up to this point was his ludicrous amount of strength.

'But I didn't see a magic circle,' were her last thoughts before Orga spoke.

"I wonder," Orga brought his hands up in front of him, a ball of yellow lightning with a black outline gathered between them, "are you man enough to take an attack like this head on?"

Chad wasn't one for showing off, but he felt like this would be one of the few moments that he'd take a page right out of Ichigo's book. The extension on his shoulder opened and a large exhaust of blue, flame-like energy that was his spiritual pressure emanate from it.

Chad noticed the surprised look on the man's face and asked in his usual tone, "Can you?"

 **-END-**


	3. Chapter 3

**Zrocker119: Raise your hand if you're surprised to see me update so soon?...wow, all of you. Well seeing how you waited six months last time I'm not shocked. The response from last chapter was mostly supportive with only one reviewer totally flaming it...for an event that hadn't even taken place yet.**

 **Anyway, got two more surprises in store for those that actually decided to stick around and a question for you all that I'll ask in the end of the chapter.**

 **-Start-**

Of all the people that made up the strongest guild in Fiore, Orga was easily the quietest amongst Sabertooth. He rarely talked, usually only speaking when spoken to. On the off chance that he does speak the Godslayer always kept his voice neutral.

Even when he fought, Orga normally only showed one emotion...callousness. After all, why should he treat a foe with respect when they weren't even worth the effort that came with it?

The only time he gets to cut loose anymore is during the grand magic games, but everyone he was ever put up against hardly ever survived the first exchange, two if he was lucky. It was even worse for Orga because he loved to fight, but there just wasn't anyone worth fighting anymore.

At least until today happened that is.

It had started out like every other day for Orga. He had checked the request board only to be disappointed yet again by the lack of interesting jobs. After lounging around the hall for a few hours he had decided to go grab some lunch, taking stroll through the city afterwords.

He had been in the middle of said stroll when he saw a crowd gathering near the train station. Due to his height, the sabertooth mage was able to see over the crowd easily and felt his brow raise at what he saw.

Vicub, a newer addition to the guild had started something with a tan-skinned man that was just as tall as Orga and was quite muscular, but nowhere near the same level as the godslayer.

When Vicub started using his movement arrows though, his interest was peaked. While fast Orga could track his guildmates movements with ease...and the stranger was doing the exact same thing.

When Vicub was dispatched with laughable ease, Orga felt it was time to test this stranger. He waited until the mans back was facing him and launched towards him with his fist cocked back. If the stranger couldn't detect his approach, then he would be just like everyone else he fought, a weakling.

The sabertooth mage wasn't disappointed.

Not only did the stranger sense his attack, he managed to turn completely around and actually blocked his attack. Orga's fist connected and the man was sent back several meters, but he didn't seemed harmed what so ever.

"O-Orga," He heard his fallen guildmate try and fail to get himself out of the crater his body had made. "I-I can explain."

"The master won't be happy when he hears about this defeat," in fact it wouldn't surprise Orga if the weakling was kicked out of the guild. The master couldn't stand many things, but he hated weakness more than anything.

"Th-the bastard caught me off guard!"

That statement almost, almost, caused Orga to bark out in laughter. He saw the whole thing and knew that Vicub had been the one to attack first and just bit off more than he could chew, resulting in him getting his ass beaten into the dirt.

Focusing on the stranger he saw that the woman he was with tried to talk him out of the fight. He recognized her from last year's magic games and remembered that she was a part of fairy tail, a guild who's time that he thought had long since passed.

So the man was with those weaklings. Should he prove to be somewhat strong, then Orga would offer him a chance to join the new top dogs, and free him from the burden of being associated with a group of washed up has beens.

"Sorry but I can't let you leave without at least teaching you a lesson," Orga raised his magical power until he felt it form around his frame in a familiar black and yellow lightning.

The young teen of the group stepped forward to fight as well. Admirable but foolish, an opinion that the man seemed to share as he held out his arm. Said arm was then covered in some kind of liquid that formed into armor.

Slightly disappointed that the stranger thought that a partial take-over would be enough to stand up to him, Orga brought his hands forward and charged up a ball of lightning. He would goad this stranger, see what his reaction to being taunted.

"I wonder...are you man enough to take an attack like this head on?"

Orga felt his eyebrows raise involuntarily as the spike on the man's shoulder opened and a large stream of fire jet out it.

"Can you?"

With that said Orga launched the nameless bolt of lightning. The stranger responded by punching the air in front of him, the energy he build up discharged in a blast of power. The two attacks met at the halfway point between them.

Orga felt his neutral expression shift into a slight grin as the attacks cancelled each other out, proof that both had been equal in terms of raw power.

"What's your name," The mage was now thoroughly interested. This man had proven twice now that he was worth his attention. He needed to know the name of the one that broken his near endless streak of boredom.

"...Yasutora Sado," after a moment of silence he added, "but everyone calls me Chad."

"Chad...I like it. Simple and easy to remember," Orga once again enveloped himself in a cloak of his godslaying lightning. "My name is Orga, Godslayer of Sabertooth."

The man he now knew was named Chad nodded his head in a small display of respect.

The crowd that surrounded them had gone silent as the two giants stared each other down. The stranger broke the calm as he took a single step forward and disappeared from sight, leaving only a green pulse of light where he once stood.

'Fast,' Orga thought as the fairy appeared above him, fist pulled back. Chad's speed was indeed impressive, but the sabertooth mage was a lightning user and thus was more than prepared to face off against an opponent capable of moving with such speed.

Orga guarded against Chads punch with one of his own, his charged with lightning. Orga grinned as he allowed the energy in his arm to discharge, the force from which launched Chad up into the air, with several bolts of lightning following after him.

The fullbringer didn't appear worried what so ever as his feet seemed to mind purchase as he kicked at the air, disappearing once more in a flicker of green, avoiding the attack. Rather than retaliate, Chad instead chose to appear on ground level several meters away, arm pulled back as it erupted with blue flames.

Orga, seeing the tell tale signs of a powerful attack, brought his hands forward with a ball of his signature black lightning forming between them. Once more the pair looked each other in the eyes, this time calling out the names of their respective attacks.

 **"El Directo/120mm Black Lightning Cannon!"**

The ground beneath the blue column of concentrated spiritual parted and crumbled as it passed overhead, showcasing the raw, destructive power of the attack.

It was nothing in the wake of the power that could slay a god.

The beam of lightning overtook Chad's only ranged attack, consuming and passing through like it wasn't even there. The Fullbringer only had time to stare in shock at what had just happened before his world was enveloped in lightning.

Orga watched with some level of disappointment as the fairy was consumed in an explosion of black tinted lightning. He had hoped that the giant would last just a bit longer, but this was what he deserved for bringing out one of his strongest techniques so early in a fight.

"C-Chad-nii!" Romeo shouted as he watched the gentle giant disappear from view. From behind her mother's leg, Asuka could be heard crying in worry for her big brother. Of the three of them though, Bisca was taking this the worst. She knew that Sabertooth wasn't to be trifled with, yet after seeing how easily Chad had dealt with the first one, she had allowed herself to believe that maybe everything would turn out fine in the end.

Romeo clenched his fist as his right hand was enveloped in purple fire. He glared daggers at the one that had hurt his friend was as about to charge the man, when a figure walked out of the smoke.

Bisca sighed in relief when Chad suddenly reappeared, his jacket seeming to be the only thing that was damaged, when she noticed something that startled her.

His arm had gone through another transformation, this one drastically different from the last. It kept to the same color scheme, but now took on the appearance of a large shield that was roughly the size of the man's torso, with what appeared to be the image teeth in the center.

Any disappointment that Orga felt before had been thrown out by his opponents reappearance. "You're the first person I've face that has walked away from that attack," Orga was now certain of his decision to offer a the man a position in Sabertooth.

"With that level of power and durability you easily make the top six in my guild," he offered the man a hand. "Leave those weaklings and join Sabertooth!"

The gathered crowd had grown considerably by this point and was eating this up. Never before had one of the top mages in Sabertooth offer a complete stranger such a high position in their guild. Only a fool would refuse such an opportunity to move from the weakest guild to the strongest.

"No."

The silence that followed Chad's answer was deafening as everyone took a moment to process what had been said.

The grin that Orga had fell, having returned to his neutral look. "I would choose your next words carefully."

"I already have," Chad replied without hesitation, "your callous disregard for your guildmates condition already cemented my dislike for you. I would never turn my back on an ally, let alone a guildmate, and I'm getting the impression that your guild doesn't share the same opinion as me."

Gripping his now ruined jacked, Chad tore the article of clothing off and let the part of his fullbring that covered his shoulder momentarily fade away and briefly revealed his guild mark.

"Even though they aren't the strongest around, I'll gladly call Fairy Tail my family." With those words spoken, Chad blurred into motion, closing the distance between Orga and himself in an instant and buried his fist into the man's stomach.

Orga's massive frame disappeared as he crashed into the building behind him, with the surrounding wall collapsing onto of him. He wasn't down for long though. Not even a moment passed before he could be seen standing in the whole that his body had just created, casually brushing off the a stray piece of rubble from his shoulder..

He took a step forward but suddenly gripped his stomach in pain, spittle flying from his mouth. Glancing down Orga could see the beginnings of a large, dark bruise where he was struck. While caught off guard be Chad's sudden display of speed and strength, the mage quickly gathered himself.

"That new arm of yours is quite strong," In a shocking display of speed that someone of his size shouldn't be capable of, Orga was upon Chad, his lightning clad fist pulled back. The blow was countered by Chad's shield, but he just grinned as he coated his other hand in his magic. "Unfortunately for you, I can attack with more than just one arm!"

 **"Lightning God's Hammer!"**

With that declaration, Orga threw his other fist at his opponents unguarded side...or so he thought.

Chad held out his unoccupied hand, palm facing forward and caught the attack, completely negating it. While Orga was mentally questioning how that was possible, Chad batted his other hand off of his shield and suckerpunched Orga across the face.

Orga felt his skull shudder as he took a step back, twisting his body along with the blow. Not one to be outdone his cheeks puffed out.

 **"Lightning God's Bellow!"**

A torrent of black lightning erupted from the depths of his throat. The point blank range of the attack forced Chad to tank it head on, causing him to grunt in pain as his muscles violently spasmed.

Orga took the moment to put some distance between them, now noticing why his last punch was blocked. Chad's left arm had undergone a transformation as well, now white with a red stripe running down the length of the center. His fingertips had red diamond shaped marks on them and a spike protruded from the shoulder with two more that resembled claws extending over his chest.

After what felt like an eternity of pain Chad regained control of his body. Looking himself over, he saw that his shirt was little more than a piece of shredded cloth and now had electrical burns all over his chest.

'That attack was something else.' he though, clenching his fist to stop it from shaking. 'Is this the power of mages?'

"Those arms of yous can't be from the same creature," Orga suddenly said, "They're too different from one another. What kind of take-over are you using?"

Chad was silent for a moment, before deciding that there was no harm in explaining how his power worked. "These arms are the representation of my will." He bent forward slightly, bringing his shield to the front. "Brazo Derecha de Gigante, represents my will to protect."

He held out his left arm, clenching at the air as five disks of crackling spiritual energy obscured his fingers. " While Brazo Izquierda del Diablo...represents my will to fight back."

Orga grinned, the power that he felt concentrating in his opponents hand was unlike anything he had sensed before. 'Even after all the damage he suffered from my attacks, he can still summon this kind of power.'

Knowing that this would be the last clash Orga decided to pull out all of the stops. The Godslayer brought his hands forward and gathered lightning between them once more. The build up was similar to his attack at the start of his fight, but unlike before, this lightning was completely black and engulfed the entirety of his arms.

Having begun the charging of his attack sooner, Chad was the first to move. The giant blitzed forward, trying to close the distance between them as quickly as possible. He had reached the midway point when Orga finished charging his attack.

 **"Lightning God's Charged Particle Cannon!"**

An absolutely massive and unstable beam of lightning blasted forth, covering the distance between him and Chad in an instant. It struck the fairies shielded arm but even as he charged through the beam he felt his shield break down and fade away after only mere moments of exposer.

Every pain receptor throughout his body erupted in a level of pain he had never experience up till this point. His very being felt like it was being torn apart. But despite the blinding agony, the man refused to be stopped now and soldiered on.

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" With a roar fueled by sheer determination and unstoppable will power, Chad leapt out and over the remnants of the blast. Orga's eyes widened as he saw that Chad's right arm and chest was covered in 1st, nearly 2nd degree burns, but it was the man's eyes that really caught his attention.

His brown eyes shown with a burning determination that he had never seen before, glowing with a soft blue light.

 **"La Muerte!"**

Orga was floored as Chad's left fist collided with his chest, sending him crashing to the ground and coughing up blood as his breath left him. The ground beneath the duo erupted, chunks of cobblestone flying everywhere as a huge skull shape was gouged into its surface.

Chad stood tall, barely able to stay awake as he struggle to remain standing, his arms reverting back to their normal state. This was by far the most draining fight of his life. Not even when one of the Espada one shot him had he felt anything like he did right at that moment.

A gasp brought him back to reality as Orga let out a labored breath. The Godslayer, with difficulty that shown, shakily got back to his feet. The mans chest was horrifying to look at and seemed to be caving inwards. It was a miracle that the man was able to stand, let along remain conscious.

"What the hell is going on here?"

There breaths were labored and movements sluggish, but the Chad and Orga were able to turn towards the one who had spoken.

Two young men had made their way to the front of the crowd. They were both roughly fifteen/sixteen years old and had the same body build, slim but muscular. One had blond hair and wore a blue, fur lined vest, cream top that left his abs exposed and suspender-like boots that went up to his waist, nearly covering his white pants completely.

The other man had hair that was black and wore a long, dark cape that reached down to his feet. Underneath he had on a plain grey shirt, a sash with four long pieces of cloth hanging from it and armored boots.

"Sting, Rogue," Orga managed to grumble out.

The blond one smirked lazily at him, "but it looks like your having some trouble." Taking a glance at Chad, Sting's smirk vanishes into a look of annoyance as he spotted the guild mark on his shoulder. "Seriously? You're struggling against someone from that guild?"

Rogue glanced the duo over as well before approaching Orga. Grabbing on of the man's arms, he allowed his comrade to use him for support. "How's your breathing?"

"Feels like I'm trying to swallow nails," Orga eyes shifted towards his opponent and nodded, "He's strong, easily top six material." Sting began to speak but Orga silenced him, "I already offered him a chance to join and he declined. I may not like it, but he's proven that he deserves our respect, so leave him be."

Sting looked like he wanted to disagree, but instead chose to shrug with an uncaring look. "Fine then. I'll let you be the one to explain this to the master."

With that matter settled the Sabertooth mages began to make their way back to their guild.

"Chad," Orga called out before they walk ten steps. Without turning back he said, "Thank you for showing me that there are still strong opponents out there. I expect you to be stronger for our inevitable rematch."

Chad was silent for several moments before responding with five simple words, "I'm looking forward to it."

Even though he couldn't see it, for some reason Chad knew that Orga was grinning. With that said the group sabertooth mages left and now that all the excitement had died down, the gathered crowd dispersed as well.

From her spot Bisca let out the breath that she hadn't know that she was holding. Nearly having a heart attack aside, she was glad everything turned out alright.

"Chad-nii!"

Hearing her daughter cry, the cowgirl looked to see that the giant had fallen forward, unmoving on the cold cobblestone. "Chad," The mother and two children ran to his side. With difficulty her and Romeo managed to flip him onto his back.

Not seeing his chest rise or fall with breath, Bisca pressed her ear to it and listened. It was faint, but she could hear his heartbeat. "We need to get him to Porlyusica!"

"Right," Romeo grabbed Chad's arm and tried to haul the man up and onto his shoulder. Holding his breath, the boy struggled with the larger man's weight and nearly fell down himself when."

"I'll carry him."

The three were startled to see that a man now stood beside them, having been too distracted with their injured guildmate to notice his approach. They couldn't see most of his physical features due to the heavy, double breasted white cape, bandana and black visor that he wore. The only thing that truly stood out was his long red hair that was done into a single braid.

Asuka, the much less cautions and naive of the group, tugged cutely on his cape. "Who are you mister?"

"...Just and old friend of his," The man answered as he patted the young girl on the head. "A friend that thought he had died a long time ago. I'll explain more later, but lets go and get Chad some medical attention first."

Picking up her child, Bisca sent the stranger a concerned look but relented as they had no choice but to accept his help for they. "We have a doctor, but she lives back in Magnolia."

The man pondered her words for a moment and nodded. "I've been there. It's quite the distance, but it shouldn't be a problem for me." He grabbed Chad and threw him over his shoulder with no visible effort.

"If you're a friend of his, then why didn't you help him sooner," Bisca questioned before he could leave. She was still somewhat cautions but she could tell from his tone that he was being genuine when he stated that he was an old friend of Chad', but it never hurt to be too careful.

"He had covered," Was the man's nonchalant response. "But I would've stepped in before things could get too dangerous." He looked in the direction of Magnolia and asked. "Where exactly in Magnolia does this doctor live?"

"Porlyusica lives in the woods to the west of the city. Look for the tree house with a garden." Romeo explained, knowing where her house was by heart. They've had to make many trips over the past few years after Twilight Ogre came to collect their money. They weren't always able to pay.

'Shouldn't be too hard to find. I'll just look for this Doctors spiritual energy,' The man thought, having long since learned to tell the energy of the soul apart from the ethernano that saturated everything in this world.

Now knowing where he was going, the man sent the group a nod and disappeared from sight, taking Chad with him.

Bisca stared at the spot that he once stood, hoping that she had made the right call. With no other choice but to hope for the best, she took her daughter and Romeo and headed for the train station. The other needed to know about what had happened.

 **-END-**

 **Zrocker119: Now, while I await for reviews and work on the next chapter here's my question.**

 **How many of you would be interested in a Devil May Cry & One Piece crossover with Dante as the primary focus?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Zrocker119:** **Heeeeeeyyyy everyone...alright full disclaimer I had this chapter at like 80% completed for the last few weeks but then was just hit with the biggest case of writers fatigue, and just couldn't bring my self to write. But the good news is that it's gone for the time being, so i intend to get as much writing done as possible.**

 **Continuing on, I've got a question for all of you, well two questions really. The first being this...should I give Chad magic? I already know what I'd give him but I want you all to decide whether or not I actually do it. I'll be putting up a pull shortly after this chapter goes up and will leave it for about a week or so.**

 **Lastly most of you have figured out that yes it was Renji that appeared at the end of the last chapter and is the only other Bleach character that will make an appearance. Now here's my question for all of you...should I pair him with one of the lovely ladies from the world of Fairy Tail?**

 **If so then who should the lucky gal be? And before any of you ask, yes, I already have a pairing decided for both Ichigo and Chad.**

 **Alrighty then, with that in mind onto the chapter!**

 **-Start-**

"-igo…-chigo...Ichigo!"

The young shinigami's eyes shot open as he awoke from his deep sleep. "W-what?" He questioned with a yawn.

From his left, Azlack patted the orangette on the shoulder as he got up from his seat. "Ride's over."

Glancing out the window Ichigo saw that the train had indeed come to a stop. With his longer than planned nap over, he stood up and stretched his stiff limbs. Giving himself a quick pat down Ichigo grabbed his blade from where it was propped against the wall. Once it was secured to his back, he followed his fellow guild members off the train.

The group of five stepped outside and Ichigo was taken aback by the sight before him. It wasn't the town itself that got this reaction from him, but what lied after that. Even though he was from Japan, a had been to the coast multiple times, the view of the seemingly endless ocean never ceased to amaze him.

"Yeah that was my expression as well when I first came here," Macao patted him on the shoulder, "Welcome to Hargeon. Come on, we've got less than thirty minutes to be at the docks."

"Right," With the initial amazement having passed, Ichigo fell in step with the others but still took in the sights as they passed by. While they made there way through the town and towards the port, he became aware of the every growing number of stares that were being sent their way. It didn't just end with looks either as Ichigo caught many of the passerbyers whispering to each other and even saw a few exchange bills.

"They make bets," Ichigo turned his attention to Alzack who had spoken up. "Every year on the anniversary of our friends disappearance we return to search for clues. For five years we've done this, and for the past three many of the people that live here place bets on whether or not we come back the next."

Upon learning this Ichigo was tempted to turn his gaze to those that took part in such a sick betting pool and let them just feel a thin sliver of his power, but seeing the indifferent expressions of his guildmates he held back...for now at least.

" _ **Just let me know when Kingy,"**_ Zangetsu called out with a chuckle, " _ **I'll gladly leave every single one of these sick bastards with some extra weight in their pants."**_

With an unnoticeable smirk Ichigo resumed following the others. Thankfully they wouldn't have to dealing with the stares and whispers for long, cause it was only a few minutes later and the group reach the docks. From there the group boarded a ship that was located near the edge of the area.

Now Ichigo may have never been on a ship before but even he could tell that the ship they were on was of high quality, something he found quite strange given the financial state that the guild was currently in. Sure more and more requests had been flowing through the guilds doors since him and Chad joined, but Fairy Tail was still rather poor.

He voiced this to the others and Macao just pat him on the shoulder. "If it meant finding any sort of clue, then we'll pay any amount of money. So don't worry about it." He moved on and started helping the others prep the ship, "Besides we only paid half the price."

That earned him a confused look from the orangette, "Who paid the other half?"

The guildmaster paused in what he was doing, adopting a more somber expression. "The man's name is Jude Heartfilia. His daughter, Lucy, was among the ones that disappeared. He heard that we were still searching and offered to help fund our yearly expedition. At first he wanted to pay for everything, but we managed to bargain it down to half."

"He normally comes along to join the search," Azlack chimed in as he loaded up boxes of supplies, "But last we spoke he said his health wasn't what it used to be and could no longer come."

With that information in mind Ichigo remained silent as they continued loading the supplies for the trip, and a short while later the ship was on its way to where the Island used to reside.

It was during this time that Ichigo found himself out on the deck, leaning against the rails as he stared across the ocean. Jet was manning the wheel while the rest of the group was sat on deck. They had set up a table with chairs and were playing a game of cards to pass the time.

"Ichigo," said orangette glanced behind him to see Alzack flag him over, "We're about to start a game of poker and could use a fourth player."

Seeing as there was literally nothing better to do, the shinigami pulled out one of the extra chairs and took a seat. "Gonna warn you though, I'm not really one for card games."

Droy gave a heartfelt chuckle, "Don't worry about it. We'll teach you the ropes."

Despite his declaration, it was soon discovered that Ichigo's uncanny ability to learn didn't stop a combat. Not even three games in, the newbie was effectively schooling the veterans. A few minutes and his fifth consecutive win later, Macao slammed his hands onto the table, knocking most of the chips to about.

"Screw taking jobs," He jabbed a finger in Ichigo's face, "Once we get back to the guild, we're pooling together every scrap a cash we can find and taking you to a casino!" The guild masters declaration earned a round of laughter from the others and a small chuckle from Ichigo.

With a deep and calming sigh, Macao let out a small laugh as well. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you Ichigo?"

Ichigo held up his hands defensively, "Hey, I'm just as surprised as the rest of you. I've only played once before and that was with my dad."

Alzack reached into a nearby cooler. Pulling out enough drinks for everyone he said, "I just realized something." Passing the drinks around he turned to Ichigo. "You've never talked about your family."

Ichigo took the offered drink but paused before he could bring the cup to his lips. He lowered the drink and stared into its contents. An awkward silence befell the group as they waited for someone to say something.

"S-sorry," Alzack scratched the back of his head, "Didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Ichigo brought the cup to his lips for a drink, but not before muttering, "If anything, it brought of the good ones." Downing the whole thing in one go he continued, "It's just tha-"

"Tell us about them.".

Ichigo blinked and looked at Macao. "Huh?"

"Tell us about your family," Macao clarified as he took a sip of his drink. "I mean if you and Chad are anything to go by, then they must have been one hell of a group of people."

His wording brought a small smile to Ichigo's lips as he thought back to all of the fond memories he had of his friends and family. With a nod Ichigo said, "alright then. But only if you guy's tell me about everyone else."

Macao, along with Alzack and Droy, raised their drinks in agreement. "Sounds like a deal."

* * *

It was later that night that Ichigo once again found himself staring at the ocean. They had arrived at the area where they would search for clues but it was almost sunset by then, so they had decided to begin searching the next morning. So with that settled they had dropped anchor and gone to bed.

But it was all too soon for Ichigo as he woke with a shout. Dripping with sweat and nothing on but a pair of pajama pants, he went above deck to try and settle his nerves. The cool sea breeze did wonders cool his burning body, but his mind was plagued with the images of those that he lost.

"Rough sleep?"

With but a thought, the sealed form of Zangetsu was on his back. With one swift motion, spun around and Ichigo drew it in a defensive manner only to see Alzack leaning against the mast, arms crossed and with an understanding gaze.

Not realizing how labored his breath had become, Ichigo sheathed his blade and took a deep, calming breath. "Yeah, that's one way to put it," He said as he went back to staring at the water.

"Hmmm," was Alzack's response. Pushing off of the mast he chose to rest against the rail alongside his guildmate. The two spent the next several minutes in total silence, but it was a comfortable one.

"Guess you were pretty close with her," Alzack suddenly spoke catching Ichigo off guard.

"Her?"

"Orihime," Alzack said as he turned to look at him, "You called out her name right before you woke up." Upon seeing Ichigo's worried look he quickly said, "don't worry about the others having heard you, cause trust me when I say that they're heavy sleeper."

He snorted, "hell, only reason I heard you was cause me a Bisca had to be light sleepers in case Asuka had a night terror."

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief. He would hate for the others to see him in such a vulnerable state. "Can you…" he began but trailed off.

Knowing what was being asked Alzack nodded, "Don't worry about it. I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks." Once again the two found themselves in silence. But this one didn't last nearly as long as Ichigo spoke. "I died for her you know. Twice, and both times she was the one that brought me back."

If it were to come from anyone else, Alzack would thing that they were exaggerating, but over the last few months he had learned that Ichigo wasn't one to blow things out of proportion. So when he said that he died twice for this girl, Alzack believed him.

It wasn't just the words either. Even with the low moonlight, the mage could see the scars that littered the young man's body, with the two main ones being the large circular marks that matched up on his chest and back. For someone to receive a wound like that and come back from spoke volumes of what Ichigo went through before Alzack found him and Chad in the woods near his home.

"She must have been some woman to do something like that not only once but twice."

"Yeah," For a moment Ichigo developed a fond smile, but it was replaced by a much more somber one a second later. "Too bad I didn't realize it until it was too late. And now she's gone and everyone else I loved are gone forever."

That brought a frown to Alzack's face. The way Ichigo was now reminded him too much of himself and everyone else from Fairy Tail when they learned of what had happened at the S-class Exams.

"You didn't lose them," Alzack spoke as put an understanding hand on his friends shoulder. "Just because they're not with you in body, doesn't mean that they aren't with you in spirit."

"The memories of them are forever with you," He began as he pointed to his head, "here," He then lowered his hand until it was at his heart, "and here."

Ichigo stared almost blankly at him for several seconds, "Do you realize how corny that sounded?"

The two shared stone cold expressions for a few moments before it became too much and the duo broke out into laughter.

"Ahaha-ha," Alzack wiped away a stray tear, "Yeah, I realized that as soon as I said it. But that doesn't mean that I'm wrong though. So long as you cherish those memories and never let go, then they will never truly die."

Ichigo, having calmed down as well, took the slighter younger man's words to heart. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good," Alzack let out a yawn, "Cause I'm tired and want to go and catch some sleep. It's gonna be busy day tomorrow."

The orangette chuckled to himself as the cowboy themed mage retired to the sleeping quarters. He was tired as well, but at the moment he had too much on his mind to try and sleep. So he did the next best thing.

Taking a seat with his blade resting in his lap, Ichigo closed his eyes. When he opened them again he was no longer on the ship, but now stood on one of the many sideways skyscrapers that made up his inner world.

" _ **Yo,"**_ came the call of the battle crazed half of his blade. " _ **You picked a good group of people to join King. The place was looking to start storming before Billy the kid there set ya straight."**_

Ichigo allowed himself to smile, "Wouldn't have settled for any less. I'm sure you know why I'm here."

Zangetsu developed his signature psychotic grin. Rather than vocally relay his answer, the crazed portion of his powers appeared before him with his pale blade raised that was brought down just as fast, only for it to be intercepted by Ichigo's own.

" _ **I'm more than willing to beat the shit out of ya till your exhausted!"**_

Ichigo found himself grinning, "Then bring it on!"

From off to the side, Tensa stood on his flag pole and sighed as the world around him shook from his partners clash. Through his tinted shades though, he could see that the water that flooded a enormous portion Ichigo's inner world had dropped significantly since Ichigo and Chad joined Fairy Tail.

" **Hopefully they can filled the void that was left in your soul Ichigo,"** Tensa looked to the still clouded sky, " **Hopefully they can fill it."**

* * *

The next couple of days were very emotionally draining for everyone on board, especially for the veteran members of the guild. Day after day they would dive below the waves to search for any sort of clue as to the remains of their comrades, but just like the previous years there was only an enormous crater where the island use to lie.

Macao let out a disheartening sigh, "Looks like this year's another failure. Jet, signal the others to get back on the ship."

The speedster shared the same melancholy expression as his guild master, but there was little that they could do about it. Grabbing a lacrima Jet tossed it over the side of the ship where it could be heard entering the water with a small splash. Just a few moments later a flash was seen.

Below the waves, Ichigo, Alzack and Droy were searching the massive crater when a bright flash came over them. Knowing that that had been the signal to return, the trio carefully made their way back to the surface. Upon breaching, the bubble that surrounded their heads and thus allowed them to breath underwater popped.

The multitude of uses for magic would forever continue to amaze Ichigo.

"Time to switch," Alzack asked as they climbed up.

Jet shook his head, "We're heading back home." Both Alzack and Droy stopped drying themselves and became noticeably saddened by the news. Their feelings were shared throughout all the the fairies present.

Ichigo, having finished drying off, quickly donned his shinigami attire and turned back to the water with a critical gaze. Something was wrong. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was definitely something there that they were missing.

Whenever he was down beneath the waves, Ichigo just felt off. The only way he could describe it was to compare it to the time he and Chad left the dimensional gap. That feeling that overcame them as they stepped through the boundaries that surrounded this world. It was as if the dimension itself knew that they shouldn't be there, but then just moments later had accepted the pair.

That same feeling of awkwardness would wash over Ichigo whenever he explored the waters below. Something was missing, and he intended to find out what it was.

Ichigo continued to stare out into the waters for some time, even as the others prepared the ship for their departure, but then something caught his eye. Several hundred meters off the side of the ship, just standing on top of the water, was a girl.

She was very young in appearance, almost like that of a small child just entering their early teens. Her hair was a yellow-blonde and reached all the way down to her feet, with a small ahoge. She wore a frilly, pink layered robe with a red ribbon tied into bow around her neck.

Her large green and pupiless eyes were wide in shock, as if she was surprised that he could see her. Ichigo went to alert the other but the girl frantically waved her arms in a negative fashion before holding a finger to her lips.

She tilted her head in a cute fashion before mouthing a single word that Ichigo was barely able to catch.

Soon.

"Yo Ichigo," the one in question turned to see Jet wave him over. "Could use some help over here."

Glancing back to the water, Ichigo found that the girl from before had vanished. With even more questions than answers now plaguing his mind, the shinigami pushed off of the railing and began to help the others prepare for their journey home.

* * *

"Yeah," Macao spoke into a lacrima as the search party made their way down the trail towards the guild. "Sorry that we had another repeat of last years search...We'll try again next year...Hope you feel good enough to tag along...Goodbye."

"How did Jude take it," Questioned Droy.

"Same as always. Remorseful but with a bit of hope for next time." The guild master seemed to age several years as he dragged a hand down his face, "Now be the bearer of bad news yet again." The others could do little more than give the man comforting pats on the shoulder.

While the rest of the party tried to lighten the masters mood, Ichigo was deep in thought as his mind was still playing back what he saw. Who was that girl, and what did she mean by when she said soon? Did she have something to do with the disappearance of the Island?

His steps faltered when a pulse of energy washed over him and it wasn't just him either. The whole group stumbled a bit as it hit them as well.

"What the hell was th-Ichigo!"

Alzack's concern went unheard by Ichigo as he tore ahead of the pack, going so far as to use shunpo to close the distance between him and the guild faster. He knew exactly what the wave of energy was. He knew whom exactly that spiritual pressure belonged to. But that person was long since dead.

If this was someone's idea of a joke, then whoever was responsible would pay dearly for this decet.

When he arrived at the guild, he nearly tore the door off of it's hinges in his haste to open the damn thing. Everyone inside turned to face hims, each bared looks of surprise. Except for one that is.

The man seated at the bar calmly set down his eating utensils and turned around so that his elbows rested on the countertop. He wore the standard shinigami uniform with the inclusion of a bandana and black visor that rested on his forehead. His sword rested against the stool beside him.

His long red hair was done in a long braid, now longer in the spiky ponytail that Ichigo had seen it in last.

"Yo Ichigo," Renji Abarai greeted with a small smirk. "Been some time."

Ichigo couldn't believe what his eyes were showing him. Renji was here. Alive and well. It was almost too much for the young man.

"R-Renji is it re-" He was cut off as the friend he thought dead appeared before him. The redhead offered a smirk before he suddenly grabbed Ichigo by the face and took off into the sky. Ichigo didn't have enough time to process what was happening before he found himself crashing back first into the ground.

With a cough he got to his feet whilst dusting himself off. "Renji What the hell," He roared and looked up. Ichigo would forever deny the yelp of fright that left his throat as he quickly drew his blade to block the one that threatened to split him in two.

"Rraaah!" With a roar Ichigo diverted Renji's sword to the side and retaliated with a strike of his own, but was blocked as well as the two shinigami clashed in rapid succession.. The pressure from the blades proved too much as the nearby trees they were cut to splinters from the razor sharp winds.

The duo blinked in and out of view as they instinctively dove into shunpo, masterfully using the high speed movement technique. Sparks, craters and the concussive waves created from their clashes were the only visual indicator to what was going on.

After what felt like an eternity the two appeared on opposite sides of the newly made battle ground. Both sported cuts that bled freely though Ichigo, unlike Renji, held a distinct advantage as his wounds steamed and quickly began to stitch themselves closed.

Renji let out a low whistle and lighted bounced the back of his blade off his shoulder, "Damn, I forgot how fun it is to kick your ass."

Ichigo made a "tch" sound and just sheathed his sword, "Says the one currently bleeding all over the place." That earned him a bark of laughter from the redhead.

"Well not everyone has a healing factor as broken as yours," The former lieutenant commented with a smirk as he too put his blade away. "When did you learn to finally seal your Zanpakuto? I barely recognized you without your spiritual pressure leaking out like a damn waterfall."

The two had closed the distance between each other and now stood before one another.

"A couple weeks after arriving here," There was a moment of silence as the two stared at each other before Ichigo released a sigh, "How long?"

Renji responded with a sigh of his own as he took a seat on a nearby tree stump, "...It's been a little over five years for me. I kept thinking that someone else would appear like I did, but as the years passed with no sightings or rumors I just lost whatever hope I was holding onto."

He let out a pitiful laugh, "But then a couple months ago I felt a wave of spiritual energy that washed over me. So I started searching, trying to sense it out, but after years of feeling ethernano, my spiritual touch had dulled. It wasn't until a few days ago that I felt another spike of spiritual pressure."

"You found Chad," Ichigo stated as it was the most obvious answer.

"Yep," acknowledged the redhead, "Sat back and watched as he beat a guys ass into the pavement before fighting another to a standstill."

Ichigo blinked as that little tidbit of info sunk in, "Chad fought someone?" Renji nodded, "...And they we able to hold their own?"

Renji raised a brow, "Why does that surprise you?"

"Well…" Ichigo suddenly found the sky to be very interesting as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I flicked one guy threw a wall while Chad did the same but with a less than half assed punch."

"What guild were they from?"

"I think it was Twilight Ogre," Ichigo answered, "...does that matter?"

Renji couldn't contain it any longer and let out another round of laughter, but unlike before where it full of bitterness and self loathing, this was good-natured. Like a man that hadn't been able to truly laugh in a long time.

After calming down significantly he sat up, threw an arm around Ichigo's shoulder and started to lead him back to the guild. "Ahaha-ha, you have no idea what the people here are capable of."

 **-End-**


	5. Chapter 5

**Zrocker119:** **Another day, another chapter. Sorry for the almost four month wait, got caught up in a lot of things. One of which being my newest story, A True Devil on the High Seas(Shameless plug). Also the poll results are in...Chad will NOT be receiving and kind of Magic. Nothing but Fullbring for the gentle giant.**

 **Alrighty that's enough BS for now. Let's get on with the reason why your all here.**

 **-Start-**

.

.

.

When Ichigo and Renji returned to the guildhall things were a bit tense to put it lightly. Macao and the others looked like they were getting prepared for a full scale war when the two of them casually walked inside, clothes shredded to bits and all.

"What's going on everyone," Ichigo smoothly asked, despite looking like he just got in a fight with a blender.

"Ichigo!" Everyone stopped what they were doing. Before he could even blink, Ichigo was set upon by the rest of the guild, getting swarmed as they checked him for injuries. Kinana and Laki took it a step further as they began to try and remove his shirt to get at his other wounds.

Yeah...that's what they were doing it for.

"Guys, guys I'm fine really!" Ichigo tried to fight them off, but they were relentless. He could just knock them out, but they were just looking out for his well being. At least that was what he thought up until one of the girls cop a feel of his ass. "Renji! Renji, help me!"

The redhead did what any good friend would do in this type of situation and just threw his head back in laugher. "You get them lady killer!"

"I hate you so much right now!"

* * *

After a few minutes of what was Ichigo's toughest fight to date in this world, he was finally able to convince everyone,(cough) Laki and Kinana (cough), that he was completely fine and that nothing was wrong. Once everyone had settled down and had gotten drinks, Ichigo explained what had happened during the short amount of time he had been gone.

"So you weren't kidnapped?"

Ichigo nodded, "No I was not."

"And Renji here is one of your old friends that you thought was dead?"

"That's correct."

"...So why did he attack you?" Romeo questioned.

"Cause he's an asshole, that's why!" Ichigo shot the redhead a half assed glare, getting a raised finger in response which caused him to smirk. "But in all seriousness he just wanted to make sure that my skills hadn't deteriorated since we last saw each other."

"Got that right!" Renji agreed as he finished bandaging the wounds on his arms, "Trust me, if we really wanted to kill each other then this forest would've been erased from existence."

Ichigo face palmed in a failed effort to stifle back a groan as all heads turned towards him at Renji's declaration. "He's not lying." And he wasn't. With the boost that the two of them had gotten while in the Soul King's Palace, Ichigo and Renji were basically natural disasters that walked around in human form.

"That's so cool." The youngest amongst them said with stars in his eyes. "Can we see you two fight for real!?"

"No/no!" Both shinigami answered at the same time.

"I've already got the council hounding my ass as it it," Renji continued as he put on his traveling gear. "Last thing I need or want is for them to get after Ichigo as...but now that I think about it," He paused to cup his chin in thought, "he'll probably end up on their list anyway if past experiences are anything to go by."

Wakaba held up a hand at that and asked, "Why would the magic council be after you? Have you done something illegal?"

"If by illegal you mean tell them off, then yes I did." At their exasperated expression Renji figured that he should explain further, "Look they don't like the fact that I'm freelance and refuse to join a guild. But that doesn't stop them from trying to persuade me otherwise."

Ichigo stared at him for a good long while before finally asking the question that was on everyone's mind, "What did you do to get their attention in the first place?"

The redhead rubbed the back of his neck, finding the ceiling to be very interesting at the moment. "I may or may not have picked a fight with one of the Wizard Saints a few years back." A pin could be heard from how silent the guild had become.

Now Ichigo may not no much about this world, but even he and Chad had heard of the Wizard Saints. He stared at his friend for a moment before palming his face in exasperation. "Why the hell would you go an do something like that Renji?"

"Cause the guy was prick," Renji snapped before taking a calming breath, "The guy stumbled upon me while I was training, just some light exercises to warm myself up. Except the man didn't know that and assumed I was a nobody mage that was just starting out."

He took a seat at the bar, his elbows resting on his knees. "The dude was really full of himself and trying to give me pointers. I told him that it was unneeded and to go away and to mind his own business. He then tried offering me his autograph. I was more than annoyed by that point and told him to go fu-" Renji glanced at Romeo and corrected himself, "I mean politely told him no thank you."

Those that were old enough to understand exactly what he meant to say nodded before motioning for him to continue. "Anyway he took exception to that, asking if I even knew who he was. When I said that I didn't know or cared to he threw a punch at me...now there's a new lake in the spot we fought."

Ichigo, who had been in the middle of taking a drink spit it all back out, spraying his beer all over the space to his side which happened to be where Max was seated. Ignoring the indignant outburst from the sand mage, Ichigo focused on Renji, his eyes wide like saucers.

"Just how strong was this guy!?"

Rather than answer vocally Renji decided to show them and reached for his shirt, moving the article of clothing to the side. Everyone stopped what they were doing, horrified by what they saw. Taking up most of his chest was a scar. Not just a cut or burn mark though. No, this looked like his entire rib cage had had been caved in and had been pushed back out, but the center got stuck about three fourths of the way.

" Did that with his opening attack. Barely lived through that experience." Renji admitted, releasing his shirt and allowed it covered the scar. "But he didn't walk away scot free either." He placed a finger on his left hip, dragged up across his chest before stopped at his right collarbone. "Gave him a souvenir of his own."

"...Who was it?" Ichigo asked with a look of barely concealed rage.

Renji merely waved off his question. "Don't worry about it. Should he try and pick a fight me again, I'll deal with him." Reaching down he picked up his sword and tucked it into his sash. "I've got to be heading out now. Jobs to do and all that."

If Ichigo was saddened by his departure, he did a good job at hiding it. "I'm going to see him off."

Understanding that they wanted a moment alone Macao nodded and gestured for everyone to get back to what they were doing before, letting the two to have their privacy. Following Renji outside the two started down the trail towards town.

"...Are you truly alright." Ichigo asked after several minutes of walking in silence.

"Physically yes," Renji hung his head a bit, "but I miss them. I miss them all," He reached into this pocket, retrieving a familiar badge from it's depths, "but I miss her the most."

Ichigo recognized the badge instantly. It was the same badge that every lieutenant was given, but it wasn't the one for squad six. Placing a hand on Renji's shoulder he gave it a comforting squeeze.

"I'm sorry that we couldn't save her."

"...I'm sorry that we couldn't save anybody."

Placing the badge away, Renji locked forearms with his brother in all but blood, pulling him into a hug.

"You stay safe out there," Ichigo all but ordered, "cause I don't wanna hear down the road that you went and got yourself killed."

"Same goes for you and Chad." Was Renji's response. After a moment he added, "And before you even ask, I already wished him farewell a few hours ago."

Ichigo nodded, "Where is he anyway?"

Renji jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Took him to the guilds doctor a couple days ago while you were on your trip and let me tell you, he had been in quite the fight. Last I saw he was still recovering from his injuries."

He placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "I know that the both of you are strong, hell even with all of my training, your on a whole level above me, but Chad's well below what I was back then."

"There are real monsters out there Ichigo," Renji continued with absolute seriousness, "Chad's got potential to be one of those monster, he just needs the extra push."

Ichigo closed his eyes in thought. A moment passes by and he opens them, brimming with determination. "I refuse to lose anymore loved ones Renji. I'll do anything within my power to ensure that."

Renji didn't bother to try hold back the smirk that threatened to split his face in two, "Just making sure." He turned and left, throwing one last wave over his shoulder. "I'll be seeing you around Ichigo. I'll try and stop by every once in a while." And with that he disappeared in a burst of shunpo, leaving Ichigo to dwell on how to continue forward.

Shaking his head Ichigo made his way off the path and into the woods, the corner of his lips turned slightly upward as he thought about what to do next. Well what to do after he checked in on Chad that is.

* * *

"Now bring your hands up and touch your fingertips to your thumb."

Chad gave no argument and did as instructed. A few moments later he was ordered to stop.

"Well, despite the amount of electricity that went through your nervous system, it appears that you still have complete control of your motor functions." Porlyusica observed with a bit surprise in her tone. She was a tall, elderly woman with pink hair and was the first person Chad had seen upon waking up.

That had been a few days ago. Shortly after coming to he had tried to get up, but a few bashes on the head with a broom and the giant of a man had returned to the bed. Since then the guilds reclusive doctor had kept him confined to her home as she had him run through all sorts of tests to make sure that he was well enough to move about.

"I don't like humans," Porlyusica prodded his arm with a needle, getting the desired reactions from the limb, "But you're a vast improvement from the simpletons that I usually treat from the guild. Always wanting to fight first and ask questions later."

Chad grunted at that, "From what I've seen since joining, their always trying to avoid fights."

The doctor paused in her test to stare at him with scrutiny, searching for any signs of deceit. Her rough features softening slightly when she found none. "You don't know, do you?" Sighing she went to her cabinets and started pulling out herbs and other ingredients, "I won't bother with the details but Fairy Tail has been in it's twilight years for some time now."

The giant of a man went to ask more but was silence by a sharp glare. "I'll speak no more on the subject. Seeing how the anniversary of the incident was a couple days ago, it's a given that they'll explain everything once you've returned."

Seeing that it would be futile to try and get anymore information from her, Chad remained silent and allowed her to work. The next thirty minutes passed with complete silence, the sound of her mixing ingredients being the only source of noise throughout the small house. Eventually though, Porlyusica finished what she was doing and turned back to him.

"Everything seems to be fine, but drink this should there be any lingering pains." She handed him a glass bottle that was filled with a blue liquid that gave off a feeling of warms in his hand. "I'm afraid that is the extent of my abilities." Her gaze fell to his right arm, "You'll have to live with that for the rest of your life."

Chad glanced at said arm. The entire limb was now incredibly pale, the burn scar traveling all the way to shoulder and partially across his chest. Compared to his naturally tan skin it stood out quite easily. Chad only gave a grunt though and put his shirt and jacket back on.

It was at that moment when knock was heard, making the two turn towards the door. With an audible sigh, Porlyusica approached and opened the door, revealing an orange-haired man that she didn't recognize on the other side.

"Uhmmm, I'm here to see Chad." Ichigo scratched his head, clearly embarrassed by not knowing the name of the pink-haired woman.

"He was just leaving," Pushing Chad forward, Porlyusica slammed the door behind him, "Now get off my property, I can't stand having humans around here."

"Ma'am-"

"Porlyusica."

Ichigo shot his friend a thankful look, "Porlyusica…"

The woman sighed, opening the door to yell again but paused when she saw the swordsman bow to her.

"Thank you for looking after my friend." His brown eyes bore into her own, revealing the depths of his gratitude far more than words could ever hope to achieve. With his thanks given, Ichigo turned and left, Chad following only after he gave her his thanks as well.

The hermit stared at the two until they disappeared behind the treeline. Scowling slightly, she shook her head though failed to completely stop a small smile from forming.

* * *

The next several months were a blur. Life continued on like normal for the guild, with the exception of Chad and Ichigo. Upon their return, Macao and the others explained to the gentle giant what had transpired while he was recovering from his wounds. After learning about what happened to the guilds former members Chad, much like Ichigo, had sworn to help them find closure.

After that Chad had thrown himself into training. Even though the fight had technically been a draw, the fullbringer personally considered it a loss since he had fallen unconscious while his opponent had managed to walk away, albeit with some assistance.

When it came to training his closest friend was immensely helpful, but unlike him, Chad didn't have the benefit of Ichigo's absurd rate of growth. Chad was only human and not a perfect combination of every spiritual being after all. Unfortunately though the two of them couldn't train twenty four seven as they still had to take jobs in order to afford food and keep on living.

It was after one of these jobs that something unexpected happened.

* * *

Ichigo currently sat at one to the tables within the guild, reading a book while little Asuka sat in his lap and tried to read along. With her parents out on a job the shinigami had offered to look after the little girl, an offer that the parents were more than happy to accept.

He was Asuka's honorary big brother after all.

Anyway it was one of the few days that they were the only ones at the guildhall and were taking full advantage of the piece and quiet. They were nearing the end of the book when the doors flew open with a loud slam.

Glancing up Ichigo saw that Chad and Romeo had returned from their job.

"Yo." Ichigo greeted with a small wave. Chad merely nodded while Romeo rushed towards the two carrying a large bundle in his arms.

"Ichi-nii, Asuka! Look at what Chad and I found while on the job!" Rather than wait for a response Romeo set the bundled up object on the table and began to unwrap it.

Marking their place and setting the book aside for latter, Ichigo and Asuka looked on with interest. Romeo is generally an excitable person but Ichigo hadn't seen him reach these heights before. As the boy finished moving the wrappings aside Ichigo's eyes widened.

It was an egg. A very large egg as it was about the size of the shinigami's chest. The shell was dark purple in color with two red markings on the side, giving it the illusion of possessing eyes.

Asuka hopped of from his lap and clambered onto the table, looking at it in wonder. "Big birdie!?" She asked excitedly while sitting down and hugging it, though her arms couldn't even all the way around. The damn thing was just that big.

Her childish wonder earned a chuckle from her three brother figures, Ichigo patting her affectionately on the head.

Seeing no reason to argue otherwise Ichigo spoke, "I don't see why it couldn't be one."

"Maybe it's an Exceed like Happy!"

Chad gave the young fire mage a questionable look, "What's an Exceed?"

"It's a cat that can talk and use magic to fly around with angel wings."

The giant shared a look with Ichigo who was just as confused as him and offered a shrug. They had both received training from a talking cat that could transform into a woman so they had no room to judge. Strange shit existed and they had just learned to roll with it.

"I want a birdie," Pouted Asuka cutely, clutching the egg closer to her.

"Where did you even find this?" Asked the orangette while closing his eyes and reaching out to feel the creatures soul. Upon feeling it fluctuate Ichigo nodded in satisfaction. Whatever's inside was still alive. He would've hated to see Asuka's expression should it have turned out to be dead.

"Found it in a mostly destroyed next," Chad explained. "Looked like there was a fight between it's mother and some sort of large predator. Found two bodies a couple hundred meters away. Judging from how decomposed they were. the two had been there for awhile."

Ichigo rose a brow, "Any idea what they were?"

The fullbringer shook his head, "Too rotten to tell. Though both were very big."

"How big?"

"Huge," Romeo spread his arms out as wide as they could go. "Just one couldn't even fit in this room!"

After checking to see if Asuka was still distracted by the egg, Ichigo looked back to the two with disbelief in his gaze. "And you thought it would be a good idea to bring the egg of something like that here...to the guild?"

Chad merely glanced at Romeo who had the decency to blush at what should've been an obvious blunder on his part. "B-but I couldn't just leave it there. It would've been all alone when it hatched." The boy's gaze turned downward, "Nothing should be alone when it's born."

Ichigo allowed his eyes to soften at that before sighing. "I understand why you did what you did. But still we don't even know what it-"

Skee!

Everything came to a stop. With a startling amount of synchronization Ichigo, Chad and Romeo all turned towards Asuka who still hugged the egg, though said egg now had a crack in it and began to shudder.

The cowgirl watched as a beak broke through the hardened shell before retreating back inside to repeat the action a moment later. This time it punched all the way through, the entire side of the egg breaking and freeing the creature from the confinements of its egg. What rolled out though was not what any of them were expecting.

It was quite large, about the size of a medium size dog and appeared to be a mixture between a feline and a reptile. Its body was mostly covered in dark purple fur, with soft scales on its front and hind legs and had a tail that was as long as the rest of its body. The face was very feline in appearance, with the fur around its eyes being a rusty red that reached all the way back to the tip of its ears. Strangely enough though only its upper jaw was a beak but was still lined with needle like teeth.

The newborn stretched out, revealing to those watching that its forearms doubled at wings, with a thin membrane of thin connecting the segments.

Once finished with it's stretches, the creature opened its eyes for the first time, revealing the beady red orbs as it took in its surroundings before it settled on Asuka. The creature let out a screech before hobbling over on unsteady legs and began to nuzzle her.

"Fluffy!" Asuka giggled, wrapping her arms around to newborn.

.

.

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" _ **My god that's fucking adorable."**_

" _I'm sorry but what?"_ Ichigo was very much caught off guard by his zanpakuto's assessment of what they were currently witnessing.

" _ **That,"**_ The orangette pictured Zangetsu gesturing towards Asuka and the unknown animal, " _ **Is fucking adorable! And don't bother denying it King! I'm the embodiment of your instincts so if I find it cute, then you do as well!"**_

.

.

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" _Old man?"_

" **On it."**

" _ **You can silence me but you can't silence the tru-"**_

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" **He does speak the truth though."** Tensa voiced much to Ichigo's dismay.

" _ **A-ha! Victory for Zangetsu!"**_

Ichigo could only drag both hands down his face as his thoughts were his own once more, though it would seem that Zangetsu had gotten the last laugh. Why did half of his Zanpakuto have to be insane?

"Ichigo."

He turned to Chad.

"Yes?"

"...How are we going to explain this to the others?"

Asuka and the newborn were startled out of their adorable cuddle session by a loud crash that shook the table. Both turned to see Ichigo, his face planted in the wood and clutching his head. The table shook as a muffled yell emanated from him.

Not quite understanding what was going, Asuka approached her big brother and started patting him on the head in an attempt to comfort him. The creature, following what it assumed to be its mothers lead, did the same but with a clawed paw. Thankfully they were too underdeveloped to even scratch Ichigo's reinforced skin.

From off to the side Chad and Romeo watched with awkward expressions, not really sure what to do with this kind of situation.

"I'm gonna go and grab some food," Chad eventual said. The newborn would be hungry very soon and figured that everyone else could use something to eat as well. Besides he could use a walk to clear his thoughts right about now

* * *

"So let me see if I understand everything." Macao held his palms together in front of his mouth as he stared at Ichigo. "Chad and Romeo found an egg while on a job and brought it back to the guild."

"Yep."

"You were all discussing what to do with it when the thing hatched."

"That's correct."

"And then the thing that came out imprinted on Asuka and now thinks that the almost three-year-old...is its mother. Did I get everything."

"...Yeah, that's about it." Ichigo absentmindedly rubbed Asuka's back while also petting the creature's head, now dubbed Fluffy, as the two slept.

It had been a few hours since the egg hatched and after everyone, and thing, had eaten Asuka had tired herself, falling asleep in Ichigo's lap. The creature had followed shortly after, curling itself around they two so that its head rested in his lap as well and nuzzling its mother.

Macao pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "And here I was hoping that things wouldn't get crazy with you and Chad looking after the place while I was away."

Ichigo just offered the man a small smirk, "Compared to some of the things that Chad and I have done, this is actually pretty tame."

"...I want to believe that you're screwing with me, but I know that your not." Macao seemed to age several years as he spoke. "I'm just gonna let you two explain this one to her parents. Onto more important matters there's something that I've got to talk to you about. Mind if we take this conversation outside?"

Ichigo quirked a brow. It had been over a year since the dimension hoppers had arrived in this world and had joined Fairy Tail, yet the guild master had never seemed as serious as he was now. Carefully sitting up as to not wake the two in his lap, Ichigo laid Asuka down so that her head rested against the creatures stomach. A smile found a way onto his lips when Fluffy curled itself around her.

He shot Chad a look, silently conveying for him to look after the two. Getting a thumbs up in return Ichigo followed Macao outside.

Ichigo waited until the door had closed before turning to the older man. "So what is it you needed to talk to me about?"

Macao rubbed the back of his neck, thinking of how to phrase his next sentence. After a moment he just decided to go fuck it and tell it to the man straight. "In less than a month...the guild's getting shut down."

"What," Ichigo almost shouted but lowered his voice so that only Macao heard him. "What the hell do you mean that we're getting shut down!? We've hardly done anything!"

"That's the problem," The guild master explained, "We haven't done enough. Jobs sent to the guild have been few and far in between for years now, none of which being over C-ranked. Things have improved since you and Chad joined, but apparently it wasn't enough for the magic council. In fact the only thing involving the guilds that has been noteworthy lately was Chad's fight with Sabertooth, and that pissed a lot of people off."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "Pissed who off?"

"Everyone that isn't friends with us. Sabertooth's the poster guild of the whole country. For the lowest ranked guild to humiliate and then pick a fight with one of their heavy hitters is seen as a huge no no to the magic community."

"Since before you were probably even born the magic council have had it out for us. We've always been able to brush off their threats but things are different now. Unlike six years ago we don't have the backing of the entire country." The older man sighed, allowing himself the rest his back against the building and slide down until he sat.

"I don't know what to do, and I don't know how to break it to the others." Macao finished with his head in his hands. For six long years he had tried his best to keep the guild afloat but now it was all crashing down. This guild was all that any of them had left and it was being taken away.

.

.

.

A small breeze swept through the area as the seconds ticked by yet Macao still heard nothing but his own breathing. After a few more moments Macao looked up to see that Ichigo now stood deathly still, several emotions flickering in his eyes before it all came to a halt. A soft blue emanating from his eyes before he finally spoke.

"I'll be back," Ichigo turned on his heels, about to use shunpo when a hand grabbed hi, by the shoulder.

Ichigo glanced back to see Macao looking at him with a concerned gaze. "What do you plan on doing?"

"Probably something stupid," He said honestly, "But it's not like we've got anything better to do."

The guild master stared at him with an unreadable expression for several seconds before letting out a snort and took his hand off of him. "Spoken just like a true member of Fairy Tail." He jerked his head to the side. "Go do what you think is right. Regardless of what happens next, We're with you all the way."

Ichigo merely nodded before disappearing from Macao's sight in a burst of speed that was too fast for the guild master to track.

The man sighed and at that moment, feeling much older than he actually was. Macao just hoped that whatever Ichigo had planned worked.

Cause the alternative…

Shoving those thoughts aside Macao was about enter the guild when he spotted Alzack and Bisca walking up the path towards him. A bead of sweat went down the back of his head as he remembered that their daughter was currently snuggled up with an unknown creature.

His day just kept getting better and better.

 **-End-**

 **Zrocker119:** **For those that have figured it out by now, yes, Fluffy is indeed a Nargacuga from Monster Hunter. I've been playing the shit out of MH World and the mental picture of Asuka sitting on top of a Nargacuga's head was just to adorable to pass up. Does it make sense? No. Does it need to make sense? No. It's Fairy Tai-No, its Fairy Tail Fanfiction and shit gets weird.**

 **So, Fairy Tail is in danger of being shut down. Just what does Ichigo have in mind to remedy the situation and how many toes will he step on? Unfortunately it'll be a bit before the next chapter comes out, but it's gonna be a long, and I mean long chapter...long for me that is. So please be patient with me.**

 **In the mean time please favorite/follow if you already haven't and leave a review. Constructive criticism is always welcomed.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Zrocker119 : insert obligatory excuse for delay here...alrighty then. Let's get started!**

 **-Chapter 6 start-**

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An awkward silence permeated the room as Ichigo stared at the elderly woman that sat across from him. She was quite tall, with sandy blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail that fanned out. Her clothes were probably the most normal looking ones that he had seen someone wear since he came to this dimension. Just a simple turtle-neck sweater and dark pants.

Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose. Letting out a long sigh he glanced at the only other occupant in the room and the one that had brought him here.

The man was quite old, probably the same age as the woman. He had gray hair and a beard of considerable length. Unlike the woman though his clothes were much less common, taking on the form of multiple layers of robes. The strangest thing about him though had to be the small, bat-shaped ornament that that sat on his balding head.

Just how did Ichigo always get into these kinds of situations?

* * *

 **Six hours prior**

Org sighed for what must have been the umpteenth time just within the hour. It was one of those rare days where himself and the rest of the Council had finished everything on the agenda early, and thus having the day to themselves. Sitting on one of the many benches that lined the halls of the Fiore Branch of the Magic Council, giving his aching bones the reprieve that they needed.

Withdrawing a wooden pipe from his robe Org lit the tobacco and took a long puff. His mind wandered to all of the major events that had taken place over the last six years, or more specifically, the lack thereof.

After the Acnologia's attack on Tenrou Island and the subsequent deaths of Fairy Tail's most prominent members, it was as if all the excitement in the world died alongside them. While Org used to hold no love for the rambunctious guild, for all of the mayhem that they were cause of, he soon began to see how much good became of it all.

The the paperwork for their newest members came in a year ago and the amount of jobs that they completed, without the usual destruction that the late members used to cause, Org had begun to feel that there was still hope for the guild. That they would finally be able to pick themselves up and move on from their loss.

But then the incident with Sabertooth happened. Org had done his best to keep Fairy Tail off the chopping block but the public was against them now. It was funny really. Before all of this the kingdom would've been appalled by the sheer thought of disbanding the guild. But not now. These were different times, despite how much Org wished that they weren't.

The sound of approaching footsteps prompted him crack open an eye and nearly choke on his pipe by what he saw. One of Fairy Tail's newest members was walking right passed him. Based on the young man's orange hair he was able to figure out that it was Ichigo Kurosaki.

But how was he even able to reach the upper levels in the first place? Security had tightened since Jellal and Ultear infiltrated the Council. One of the newer measures in place was barrier the surrounded the whole building. Unless a mage was given authorization directly by the council, their magic would be negated until they left the barrier.

So how was it that this young man was able to reach this level if his magic was being restricted? That was a question Org would have to ask security later, for now he had too see just what the man was doing here.

"Hello there young man."

Ichigo paused his march down the hall and turned to the old man that he hadn't even noticed sitting there. "...Hi," Ichigo greeted after a moment of silence, "you wouldn't happen to know where I can find the Council room, would you? I have something important to discuss with them."

Org took another puff of his pipe, regarding Ichigo with one eye before nodding. "I do...but knowing where it is won't do you much good. They've left for the day and won't be back till tomorrow."

Ichigo's shoulders visibly sagged at that information. Great, looks like he spent the day trying to find this place only to be told that he was too late. Rubbing his neck tiredly, Ichigo looked to vacant spot on the bench and gestured towards it. "May I?"

"By all means," Org scooted over a bit to make more room for the man. "Hope you don't mind the smoke."

"Not at all," After leaning his sword against the wall Ichigo sat down, a tired sigh escaping his lips.

"So what's a young man such as yourself need to see the Council for," Org had a suspicion of what it was about but just wanted it to be confirmed by the boy.

Seeing that the old man knowing wouldn't hurt anything ichigo told him, "I found out from my guild master that the Council is disbanding our guild. Was hoping that I could do something to convince them not to."

Org let out a "hmm" in response. "Disbanding a guild is a serious matter. One that doesn't happen often. Just what did your guild do that would cause the Council to come to a decision."

Ichigo let out a scoff and crossed his arms. "Defended themselves. Nothing more, nothing less." Feigning ignorance Org quirked a brow which prompt the shinigami to further elaborate. "My friends were on their way back from a job when they were confronted by a couple members of Sabertooth. A fight broke out and now everyone's pissed at us more sticking up for ourselves."

Org took a drag from his pipe. He could tell from the boy's tone that he was well beyond the normal confines of anger. But the fact that he had yet to lash out at Sabertooth or the Council itself spoke volumes of his control over his emotions.

"I can see why you're upset but let me ask you this," Org turned to the man beside him, both of his eyes open, "Did you even think about how you'll ask the Council? Your request is not on that they'll likely give even if it were under different circumstances. What will you do if they say no?"

"...Then I guess I'll have to go with plan B." Ichigo stood up, stretching out his muscles before grabbing his Zanpakuto and placing it on his back.

"And what would that be?"

"Everyone thinks that Fairy Tail has outlived its usefulness. That it's members are just a group of nobodies that cling to the slimmest of chances that things will return to how they once were." When the boy turned to him Org was struck by the steely determination in his gaze, "I'm gonna prove them wrong. Regardless of how many quests I have to complete...I will make sure that my family survives."

"...Hmhmhmhmhm," Org chuckled. This boy spoke like a true member of Fairy Tail and had the conviction to back it up. It was about time someone of Ichigo's character found his way to them. They might just stand a chance now.

"Well then, in that case," Org stowed away his pipe and stood, patting off any dust that clung to his robes. "I guess I can assist you in your endeavor."

"Uh, not that I don't appreciate the offer but how exactly can you help me?"

Ichigo's confused expression earned another chuckle from the old man, who stroked his beard in though. "Ah, I never did introduce myself. My name is Org, the 2nd seat of the Magic Council."

Caught completely off guard by the sudden reveal, Ichigo could only blink owlishly at the man. He had been looking to talk some sense into the Magic Council, and here he was chatting with one of the highest ranking members without even knowing it.

The universe just love to mess with him.

"Oh, cool." Ichigo finally spoke, "So you can help me convince them not to shut down the guild."

"As of this moment, no." Org said regrettably, "Unfortunately, I'm the only one on the Council that doesn't wish to see Fairy Tail go. To sway their minds, it would take something substantial...and I know someone that can help us."

* * *

 **Present time**

And that was how Ichigo found himself sitting at a table within the home of former Council member Belno.

"I see," Belno spoke after Org explained why the two of them were meeting with her. "While I can understand your situation, Mr. Kurosaki, but you overestimate my capabilities. I'm a former Council Member and have no sway over the current Council decisions."

"While that may be true," Org spoke, "You can help by swaying public opinion towards Fairy Tail's side."

Belno let out a mirthful laugh at that, "Sorry but that is even more impossible. As much as I hate to say it, but there is no love for Fairy Tail among the people, barring a very select few. To shift them from Sabertooth would take something like-," The older woman paused as everything clicked into place.

It now made sense to Belno why Org brought this child to her house. Narrowing her gaze at her former coworker she spoke. "No. I refuse to put that quest back on the boards."

Org sighed. He had expected this sort of reaction from his old friend. "I understand why you took it down, but you have to see-"

"No, I don't think you do!" Gone was any sort of friendliness from her voice. Belno set her cup down much harder than was necessary, some tea escaping over the rim and spilling onto the table. "Too many lives have been lost trying to complete that damned quest, yet here you are, trying to have me give it to this child in some vain hope that he accomplishes what over twenty years worth of mages couldn't. I refuse to let more people die because of it."

"...Don't you want to know what happened to him," Org was forced to duck as a cup of hot tea flew through the space his head once was, shattering against the wall behind him.

"Get out," Her tone left no room for argument. Not even waiting for them to get up from their seats Belno left the room, the sound of door slamming shut following soon after.

The two sat in silence for several moments, Ichigo staring at the hall she had disappeared down before finally turning to Org for an explanation. "What was that about?"

The Council member seemed to age several years right then and there as he stroked his beard and let out a deep sigh. "An old wound that I had no business reopening. The quest that she spoke of has been around for nearly thirty years and is one that has close ties to her."

"What was the quest?"

"It involves an Island that is located far out to the west. There have been several attempts to chart it, but none of the exploration vessels ever returned so a quest was put up to discover the source behind the disappearances and take care of it. None that have taken the quest have ever returned."

"A mage by the name Chrona was one of those that took on the quest. He was young, but powerful. So much so that he was a candidate for the position of Wizard Saint, but like the others before him, he too was lost. He was also Belno's only remaining family."

Ichigo merely sat still as he processed all of this new information and contemplated how to proceed. He could understand more than anyone where the woman was coming from. She had lost her son to this quest. Losing family was never easy, no matter how strong willed the person was.

Org stroked his beard in thought, trying to think of another quest that he could have Ichigo take, but none other of its caliber came to mind. There was the legendary 100 year quest, but even he wouldn't allow the boy to take it. They would have to come up with a different solution. The magic games were coming soon. Maybe that could work.

So deep in though, Org didn't even notice that Ichigo had gotten to his feet and left the room until he had already disappeared down the same hall as Belno.

Following Belno's spiritual pressure Ichigo was able to track her with no difficulty and found her out in the backyard. The elderly woman sat comfortably on a porch swing, swaying gently in the breeze. Even though Ichigo had been as silent as a mouse, he somehow knew that she was aware of his presence.

For a several minutes the two stared out over her yard and at the city of Crocus just a few miles away. The city backdrop, mixed with the setting sun made for quite the gorgeous view. Ichigo could see why she picked this place to retire.

The silence was shattered by Belno. "You're wasting your time by being here. I've made my decision on the matter and will not be swayed otherwise."

"I could say the same," Ichigo leaned against the railing, "I'm leaving for the Island, regardless if I have your permission or not."

He didn't need to turn around to know that she was trying to burn hole through his head. "Even if by some miracle that you don't die and somehow succeed, the quest would've been completed illegally. No credit would be given to Fairy Tail and you'll receive no reward."

"Your guild will be shut down and you'll have accomplished nothing. So why? For what possible reason would you go and risk your life for a meaningless cause?!"

"...The same reason why I go out with them to that spot of ocean every year." He faced her fully, "Because it's the right thing to do. Cause the moment I turn my back on those that I know I'm capable of helping, that I betray everything that my name stands for."

As he spoke those words Belno could see the unshakable resolve in his gaze. And she hated it. By whatever gods were out there did she hate it, as it had been the same look that he son had given her when she tried to convince him not to take the quest.

Ichigo was startled by the remorseful chuckle that escaped her throat, even more so by the tears that started spilling down her cheeks. "You're just like him. You're just like my foolish boy. To stubborn to know when he was over his head."

"I've been told that it's one of my worst, yet best qualities"

Ichigo walked back inside, but was stopped by Belno grabbing his hand as he passed her.

"Please," she let go, leaving a folded paper in his palm. "Please find out what happened to my son."

Pocketing the quest Ichigo placed a hand on her shoulder. With a comforting squeeze he departed, heading back into the house where Org sat waiting. Upon seeing the request in his hand, Org shot him a look of surprise before quickly nodding.

With their reason for being there in hand the duo left, though there was still much that needed to be done before Ichigo could depart.

* * *

 **Fairy Tail guildhall**

"Skreek!"

Asuka giggled in childish delight as the purple ball of fuzziness that was Fluffy followed its perceived mother around the guild hall, not unlike that of a duckling. From nearby Alzack and Bisca watched with careful gazes, though the latter would glance at the book in her hand every so often. It was the fourteenth creature manual that the parents had gone through yet they were still trying to discern Fluffy's species.

While It had only been a few days since its hatching, and was already considered to be a member of the guild, having a dark green guild mark on its back, it never hurt to be too careful. Though their worry was lessening more and more with each passing day. For a wild animal, Fluffy had proven to be astonishingly docile. Not only that but it was frighteningly intelligent for a newborn, having discovered multiple ways to sneak into the pantry for a snack when no one was watching it.

On the plus side though they no longer had a rat problem.

"I think I've got."

Alzack looked to his wife to see her holding the book out for him to grab. He did so, skimming through the page it was opened to before going wide-eyed. The cowboy looked to Fluffy before going back to the book, then back to Fluffy, then to the book...and then back to Fluffy once more.

"...Well then," He handed the book back to his wife and took a long drink from a nearby beer, ignoring the "Hey that's mine" from Macao. "Guess things aren't going to get boring around the house anytime soon."

"I take it you now know what it is?" Macao asked, but only after snatching his drink back.

"It's a Nargacuga." Bisca turned the book around, allowing the other to see the detailed sketch of the fully grown creature in question. "They inhabit heavily forested environments and never stray far from their territory." Both parents took on a concerned look, "But it's been documented that they're highly aggressive hunters and bloodthirsty."

At that the group of adults heard a thud from across the main hall. They turned to see Fluffy lying on its back, flicking its tail happily whilst Asuka scratched it under the chin. The two stayed like that until Kinana came out from behind the bar, snacks for the two youngest guild members held in each hand.

"Yeah," Wakaba let out a puff of smoke at the sight of Fluffy sitting patiently while waiting for the barmaid to lower its food bowl before happily tearing into the large hunt of meat, "That right there is a bloodthirsty predator."

Bisca flipped through the pages on the species before letting out a sigh. "Well there's nothing in here about Nargacuga young. So we'll just have to keep a close eye on it."

*Burp*

All heads turned to see Asuka and Fluffy laying on their back, both rubbing their fully bellies before letting out a yawn and falling asleep right then and there. The two cuddling together for comfort.

"...Yep," Wakaba continued with emphasis on the P, "Bloodthirsty. I see it now." He fell out of his seat due to the manual that nailed him in the side of the head, which landed on him for good measure.

Before anything else could be said however, the main door opened as Chad walked in, followed by a familiar member of the Magic Council.

"Org!" Macao shouted in surprise, laced with a small amount of worry. Anytime a member of the Council showed up tended to never be good for those that they sought out personally. "T-to what do we owe the pleasure?" He asked with a forced smile.

Other than Ichigo, he hadn't told anyone about his previous meeting with the council. So he could only hope that the disbandment date hadn't been moved up.

"It's about Ichigo," spoke the gentle giant. The orangette hadn't been seen for the past few days and everyone, Chad included, had begun to worry about him. The second strongest member of Fairy Tail motioned for Org to take a seat before doing the same. "Please, explain to them exactly how you did for me."

Pulling out and lighting his pipe Org allowed himself one long puff before taking the offered chair and let out a haggard sigh. He could only hope that they took the news as well as the first young man had.

* * *

 **-Caracole Island-**

If anyone had happened to walking along the shoreline, they would've been blown away by a breathtaking sight. The sea was calm as could be, the breeze was cool and pleasant, with a light amount of cloud coverage, providing a perfect opportunity for some travelers to catch that tan they always wanted.

The only thing that besmirched the view was the single dark speck that darted along the horizon with unprecedented speeds. Several people that walked along the shore stopped to observe the speck, wondering just what it was. Eventually whatever it was stopped and seemed to grow bigger and bigger. Those with decent vision soon saw a patch of orange amongst the darkness as the object came closer before disappearing from view all together.

After a moment those people lost interest in the object and resumed going about their day, not noticing the orange-haired swordsman that had suddenly appeared at the docks not a hundred feet from them.

Ignoring the looks of those few that had noticed his sudden arrival, Ichigo stretched a bit to loosen the muscles that had gotten tense from several hours of flight. If what Org had told him during the days he had spent preparing for the mission was true, then this Island would be the only pitstop along the way to his destination.

With that in mind Ichigo stifled a yawn that threatened to come forth, he adjusted the pack on his shoulder and set out to find a place to eat. While he had bought enough preserved food and water to last several weeks, he wasn't keen on burning through them just yet. Besides, the shinigami had heard that the resort here was host to some of the best food that wasn't available anywhere in Ishgar.

And he was going to use this opportunity to try some for himself, but he couldn't stay for long. The sooner he finished the quest, the sooner he could return to the other with good news. He wasn't too worried though.

Chad was more than capable of watching after the others.

So with his mission in mind, Ichigo set out to see what he find to eat. The street was lined with several food stands, each with their own assortment of snack food. There were so many options in fact that he had a hard time deciding between them all as every single one of the smelled absolutely delicious.

After several moment of silent debate Ichigo eventually settled on one that sold some sort of desert smoothy, with a middle-aged man working behind the stand.

Sitting at one of the stools and probing his sealed Zanpakuto against the counter, Ichigo gave the menu a quick glance over. Settling on what he wanted to get he retrieved the proper amount of money from his pockets. Setting it on the counter he spoke, "I'll take a medium Star Mango Gelato."

"Certainly young man, just give me a moment." Adjusting his glasses the man counted up the money before getting to work on his order. "So tell me, what brings you here? You certainly aren't dressed for vacation like everyone else."

Seeing no harm in telling the man why he was there, Ichigo spoke. "Just getting a quick bite to eat before moving on with a quest."

"You a mage?" at Ichigo's nod the man chuckled, "Well then, I hope this gives you some extra energy along the way." He said as he placed Ichigo's finished order before him. Taking an offered spoon Ichigo tried a bite and was immediately blown away by the flavor that assaulted his taste buds.

So much so that he all but inhaled the frozen desert with speeds even Ichigo himself didn't think he had, much to the vendors joy and the shinigami's embarrassment.

"I take it you like it?"

Ichigo sheepishly rubbed his neck while his other hand held out the empty glass, "I'll take another." That earned a laugh from the man.

A few moments later and a fresh Gelato was set in front of him. As he went to take a bite though Ichigo froze, the spoon just shy of entering his mouth. The reason for his current state was simple. An absolutely enormous source of magic was nearby.

Making sure to be discreet Ichigo set the food aside and glanced at the shop keeper, who was currently doing up some dishes without a problem. A quick look around and Ichigo saw that none of the other passerbys seemed to notice the pressure.

So it was just him that could sense it. And that surprised him.

That ment whoever it was had very good control of their magic. Closing his eyes Ichigo theorized that the only reason he could detect them was do to his plethora of experience in sensing energies. As he focused on the source Ichigo noticed that they weren't just close, but were almost right on top of him.

The sound of heels clacking against cobblestone reaching his ears before someone took the seat next to him. It was the source of the monstrous amount of magic.

"A large Gelato please." A feminine voice spoke in a rather board tone.

Ichigo's eyes opened, a soft blue glow emanating from them. Sighing Ichigo turned...and promptly fell from his stool.

She was easily one of the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. She appeared to be close to his age, with green hair done in a bob with the bangs cut above her eyes, and two cross-shaped objects attached to the side of her head like horns.

It wasn't her face that caused Ichigo to fall from his seat though. Oh no, that honor belongs to the woman's choice of clothing, or in this case her lack thereof.

She wore a gold colored bikini, allowing Ichigo an unrestricted view of her large bust, shapely hips and mile long legs. The only thing that offered her remotely any sort of modesty was her fancy golden coat with purple flower patterns.

Or it would've if she had she choose to close the front of the damn thing.

Failing to fight the growing blush on his cheeks, Ichigo coughed into his fist before retaking his seat and trying his best to not stare at the woman as contrary to popular belief, Ichigo wasn't _that_ oblivious to the female form.

"Sorry about that," He offered as the woman gave him a curious glance out of the corner of her eye.

"...Right," was her dismissive response before returning her gaze to the owner of the stand. "My order."

"Right here Ms, though I'm sorry to say that I only have enough ingredients left for a small."

* * *

Brandish's blank look quickly shifted into a small frown at the owners admission. Now she was wishing that they had left sooner. Letting out a small sigh pulled her favorite desert closer, though the pout was still present. "It'll due. I'll just come again tommo-"

She was interrupted by a larger glass sliding into her own, but not with enough force to knock it over. Looking to her left she saw that is was from the orange-haired man that fell over before.

"She can have mine," He said, grabbing the sword that was leaned against the counter and strapping it to his back. Giving it a test shake and finding it secure, he set down enough money for both of their orders. He must have noticed her questionable look because he offered her a small smirk.

"I had already had one right before you got here," He explained. Turning on his heels he offered a wave over his shoulder before simply disappearing from view.

Brandish stared at the space that the man had occupied with a small amount of surprise. Not due to his kind gesture as plenty of men had done the same in hopes of earning her favor, not that it ever worked, but at the speed he had just displayed. While yes the female member of the Spriggan's had seen much faster movements from her fellow members, she hadn't detected any magic from the man.

Not a single drop.

A flicker of movement on the horizon was her only clue to which way the mystery man had gone. He interest was piqued and she would have her curiosity sated.

But first.

"I'll have these to go."

 **-End-**

 **Zrocker119:** **And so Ichigo begins his journey to save the guild that has quickly become a second family to Chad and himself, while unintentionally attracting the attention of the country demolisher herself. And before any of you ask, no Brandish will not be the one who Ichigo ends up with. She is merely curious about this our favorite orange haired soul reaper.**

 **As always, I encourage you all to leave a review! See you all next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Zrocker119: Sup friends! Sorry to keep you all waiting. But look at the bright side. Didn't take me four months this time xD**

 **-Chapter 7 start-**

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 **-Somewhere over the ocean-**

Ichigo had to bite back the yawn that threatened to come forth as he flew through the clear skies. It had been several hours since his little pit stop at Caracole Island, and he had yet to arrive at the island that the paper spoke about.

'This doesn't make any sense,' slowing down so that the wind wouldn't shred the poster to ribbons, Ichigo looked it over to make sure that he hadn't missed something. Several glances later and he knew for a fact that he hadn't mis-read anything. This was where the Island was supposed to be located, but all he could see was the open ocean that spread out in all directions for as far as his eyes could see.

' _ **Maybe it sunk?'**_ Offered Ichigo's negative counterpart.

Ichigo could picture Tensa with a hand to his chin as he tried to contemplate their options. ' **Given the countless possibilities of this world, I wouldn't rule it out. But with how infamous this Island is, I think such an even would've garnered the attention of the council.'**

' _ **So either Kingy here can't read a map for shit, or we're definitely missing something.'**_

'Let's try searching below the water,' Reaching into his pack, Ichigo retrieved a scroll that he had bought in case he found himself needing to get wet. Activating it his head was encased in an air bubble. With a constant supply of air, Ichigo began his descent towards the most certain cold waters, he was caught off guard when he felt the air resist him.

Violently so.

Before he could comprehend what was happening, the bubble around his head burst and Ichigo was suddenly flipping head over heels. He rocketed like this for several, nauseating seconds before he was finally able to stabilizing himself.

Once his eyes had stopped spinning, Ichigo glared at the spot where he was forcefully rejected with a narrowed gaze. Where there was once open air now floated a green magic circle that was slowly fading out of existence.

"A barrier," Ichigo thought aloud. With measured steps, he approached the spot where he had seen the magic circle, only stopping once it was within arms reach. Reaching out with once hand, the glyph reappeared and Ichigo immediately found it trying to throw him back once more. But unlike before he was prepared.

Holding his ground, Ichigo quickly grabbed his sword with his free hand and slashed at the circle. The air was filled with the sound of shattering glass as his Zanpakuto bisected the circle in two. The entire sky around him suddenly lit up as hundreds upon hundreds of magic circles filled the space around him before they shifted from green to red.

Ichigo had only a moment to observe the change before a force, even stronger than had previously thrown him back, pulled him into the opening that he had created. Taken off balance, the shinigami fell at neck break speed, catching only a glimpse of green before crashing into hardened stone.

Pulling himself out of a crater that was several feet deep, Ichigo rubbed his now sore neck. Tilting his head, he let out a sigh of relief at the satisfying cracks that the action made.

Turning his gaze upwards he witnessed the opening that he had made sealing itself back up. Upon completion the sky lit up once more with the array of magic circles before finally dying back down.

With a sigh he turned his attention to his immediate surroundings and found himself standing on a rocky beach. His luck must've been worse off than he originally thought, as the spot he violently crashed was the only one that wasn't covered in sand.

His eye now twitching at that observation, he turned to the lush jungle that set not thirty feet from him. Despite the sun being at its peak, the trees were packed tightly together and the canopy was extremely thick, making it impossible for Ichigo to see more than a few meters into the forest.

Patting himself down in order to dislodge any stray pebbles that still clung to his clothes, Ichigo squared himself up and leapt into the sky with the intention of getting a good layout of the Island. That trail of thought soon came to a crashing halt.

The moment he passed the canopy and began to create a foothold, the array of magic circles appeared and an immense pressure came crashing down on his shoulders. Not only that, but the spirit particles that made up his platform dissipated against his will.

With nothing to keep him airborne, Ichigo plummeted back to the ground. Scrambling to find his balance he managed to do so just seconds before he fell face first into the ground.

"What the hell!?" Glaring inquisitively at the sky he leaped once more, only for the results to repeat themselves. When ever he began to gather the necessary particles, the array would appear and force them apart and let gravity do its work.

His attempt at flight startled a nearby flock of birds, making them screech and fly away. Observing them, Ichigo saw that they weren't affected by the array and that it only activated when one came close to touching the barrier.

An idea forming in his mind, Ichigo tensed his legs. Putting more strength into his jump, he cleared the canopy with no issue, though this time he didn't attempt to create a platform. Like with the bird, the barrier didn't activate until he was close enough to reach out and touch it.

For a final time, the shinigami felt the air weigh down on him and was forced back down to earth. But on the plus side he had gain quite a bit of height and was thus able to get a good view of the Island. It was absolutely massive.

With aerial observation no longer being an option, it would take Ichigo some time to explore and search for clues behind the whereabouts of the missing research crews and Belno's son.

Upon landing Ichigo decided that it was a good time to get his partners input at the situation.

"Thoughts?"

" **It would seem,"** Tensa spoke, " **that this array not only prevent anyone from leaving the Island, but also unnatural flight. Exploration, while now much more difficult, won't be impossible."**

 _ **"..."**_

"Zangetsu?"

 _ **"Do you not feel that?"**_ His Zanpakuto growled, though there was a hint of underlying caution. " _ **The air...it's laced with magic."**_

Now that he was no longer focusing solely on the barrier, Ichigo noticed that Zangetsu was correct. Back on the mainland he could detect the magic in that air if he tried. But here...here it was much more concentrated. Almost to the point that he could taste it, quite literally.

"Think that barrier is what's causing this?"

" **Causing, or containing,"** Ichigo could feel the unease in the old man's voice, " **Now that I think about it, the barrier... it almost seems like an attempt at quarantining the Island."**

"But for what reason?" With many questions and no answers, Ichigo was left with only one option. Drawing his blade, he faced the forest that seemed much, much more sinister than before.

That barrier was they left here for a reason. Now he just had to find out why.

* * *

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No words were spoken as Ichigo made his way through the thick underbrush. On top of the air being thick with magic energy, it was also humid, making it difficult to breath at times. He stopped every once in a while in order to take a sip from his canteen and nibble on a ration.

While he could've breezed through the forest with shunpo, Ichigo didn't want to risk skipping over anything that could give him a possible lead on what happened to those that came previously.

During his short breaks Ichigo would catch glimpses of local fauna at the edge of his field of view. They always stuck to the cover of the forest, making it difficult for him to see just what they were. But they way that one always seemed to by watching him put Ichigo even more on edge.

Pressing onward, Ichigo came across his first human sightings. What remained anyway. It was a small clearing with what looked like the remains of a camp. There were tents torn and scattered about, no doubt due to animals and weather.

A thorough search rewarded Ichigo with absolutely nothing, not even remains of who had set this place up. Either the local fauna had dealt all the potential bodies, or this wasn't where they had died.

Was it a bit dark for Ichigo to assume that everyone that had arrived before him was dead? Yes, but given how he had yet to find signs of any sort of recent human activity it was all that he could assume.

Besides, with the sheer amount of magic that saturating the air he couldn't sense anything, not even the animal that he saw in the distance, even with the help of his Zanpakuto spirits so he couldn't track any survives that way. He could only rely on his natural senses.

Several hours passed as he moved deeper and deeper into the forest when he noticed that the sun was beginning to set, limiting Ichigo's field of view even further than it already was. It was when he was contemplating setting up shelter for the night near the edge of a large, slow flowing river, when he heard it.

Or more specifically, what Ichigo didn't hear. Throughout his entire journey through the foliage, the only constant was the sounds of animals moving about nearby. Even though night had fallen, the jungles nightlife should've been in full swing.

Yet where there should have been the ambient sounds of nature, an unnatural silence permeates.

 ***plop***

Faster than a mortal eye could track, Ichigo turned around, his sword drawn and pointed toward where the sound had come from. Sitting on a log that lied at the edge of the river, was a small figure with what appeared to be a fishing pole.

The figure hummed a merry tune, swaying along to it and seemingly oblivious to the presence of the shinigami that stood just a few meters away. This theory was proven false when the hunched figure addressed him.

"Ah," the figures attention didn't shift from the water as he spoke, "I see that yet another fool has come to follow after the rest." Their voice was gruff, but had a jovial tone to it. One that did little to ease the growing unrest within the orange-haired man.

"The rest?" Ichigo questioned as he drew closer. Keeping his weapon lowered but ready for quick use, Ichigo paced around to the strangers side, taking care to keep his distance in case this was a trap.

This Island had surprised him he enough times as is, no way was he going to get caught off guard again.

"Do you mean the research groups?"

There was a short pause as the figure thought on their response. "If that's what those groups of men and women were, then yes."

Now that he was no longer forced to just stare at their back, Ichigo could now see that the hunched figure was an old man, with extra emphasis on old.

Where as the late Yamamoto was ancient, yet had the physical presence of a battle hardened veteran, this man was all skin and bones. The fact that he was able to hold his fishing rod was an achievement in and of itself.

His clothes weren't much to look at. Just simple white, loose fitting robes and geta sandals. Paired with a full, white beard, and the man fit the hermit look perfectly.

"I believe the last to pass through was a man." He turned his bald head in ichigo's direction, allowing him to see that his eyes were milky white. He was completely blind. "He couldn't have been much older than yourself."

Seeing as this man didn't appear to be an immediate threat and was Ichigo's first and only source of human interaction so far, the shinigami decided to sheath his blade. Arms folded in front of his chest he asked, "How is it that you can tell my age?"

"When one is born without the gift of sight, they tend to see things without actually needing to see them." As if proving his point, the old man gave the fishing pole in his grasp a sharp tug. This was followed by a fish getting launched out of the water and landing into an open basket that Ichigo swore wasn't there a second ago.

"I can understand that." The image of Kaname Tosen came to his mind. While Ichigo himself never encountered the blind, traitorous captain, he knew that he had been of force to be reckoned with. "But that's not why I'm here."

"No, your here to learn the fate of those that came before you." There was another *plop* as the old man cast his line again. "I'll tell you what I told all those that arrive. This Island was never meant for humans. The barrier bars easy entry, and those that force their way in would soon find out that their lives are forfeit."

Wouldn't be the first time that Ichigo's been told similar. Keeping that thought to himself, the orangette instead asks, "And what of you? You look human enough and seem to be living here just fine."

"Hmhmhmhmhm," The stranger chuckled. "Looks can deceiving child, but thank you for giving these old bones of mine a good laugh. Anyway, I know that you're here for something other than listening to the ramblings of this fossil."

"All that came before you made their way to the ancient temple located at the Islands center. It's about," he tilted his head slightly. A moment passes before he pointed forwards across the river. "A couple miles in that direction."

"Will it hold the answers that I'm looking for?"

"...Most likely. I've never attempted to explore it. Not quite as strong as I used to be I'm afraid." The elder of the two said with a tired sigh, "I used to enjoy taking walks on the coast and enjoy the breeze offered by the sea. But now I make due with the sounds of the river."

With a destination now in mind Ichigo bid the old man his thanks and jumped across the river, clearing the distance with utmost ease.

"Take heed young one." The old hermit called out. "The one that lies in wait at the temple heart is not one to be trifled with. Many have challenged it and perished. A moment's hesitation and you will surely meet the same fate."

"Don't worry old man," Looking his forward Ichigo spoke quietly to himself, "I can't die, 'cause I've got a promise to keep." He'd find out what happened to the others. And none could tell him otherwise.

The hermit could only chuckle at the boys bullheadedness before returning to his fishing. It wasn't until nearly an hour later that the old man slapped a palm to his forehead.

"I forgot to warn him about creature that lurks in the forest!"

...Bah, he'd be fine.

* * *

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 **-Magnolia-**

Chad wiped away the beads of sweat that had accumulated on his forehead, but with the sun bearing down on him, it would only be a few minutes before he would have to do it again. But he didn't mind the heat. In fact it was quite welcoming for it reminded him of his time working construction.

Taking a long, hard earned drink from his water bottle, Chad took a moment to check on how the others were doing. A smile ghosted it's way across his lips as he saw Asuka, covered in dirt and grime, helping their client tend to the vegetables in her garden.

And lying in the shade nearby with his head resting on top of his paws was Fluffy, keeping a watchful eye out for pesky rodents that might try and snag the crops.

Finishing up his short break, Chad dipped his brush in paint and resumed applying a fresh coat to the fence that surrounded the yard. While jobs like this weren't the most glamorous, nor offered a high pay, he enjoyed them the most as it allowed him to unwind.

Though as much as he wished otherwise, his thoughts drifted to Ichigo, who had been gone for several days now. While they weren't privy to all of the information, Org had given him and the older members of the guild enough to know that the job Ichigo had taken was extremely dangerous, having been up for almost twenty years before being taken down.

And while he knew better than anyone else the extent of his brother in all but blood capabilities, Chad's fight with Orga had shown him that this world was just as dangerous as their old one. And that underestimating the beings and people that lived here could spell disaster for them.

Shoving those thoughts aside the fullbringer returned his focus to the task at hand. It would due him no good to dwell on such things. Besides, Asuka was startling perceptive for her age and would no doubt pick up on his mood and worry about him in her own adorable way.

* * *

Later that evening the party of three could be seen walking through town, a hard days pay in hand. Chad was currently allowing Asuka to pull him along towards the park as she wished to play with the other children in town.

Seeing nothing wrong with it and not having it in him to refuse that girl her request, Chad gave her a nod. This in turn earned him a squeal of delight and a hug on the leg before the little girl ran for the play area.

Finding a seat on a nearby bench that gave him a good view of the park, Chad sat back with a watchful gaze as Asuka mingled with children her own age.

Feeling something brush against his leg, he looked down to see Fluffy making himself comfortable. Absentmindedly petting the feline-wyvern hybrid, Chad allowed himself to relax in the cool breeze.

It had been a good day.

However, his thoughts shifted when he detected an above average amount of magic energy nearby. Having lived in Magnolia for more than a year by this point in time, Chad was familiar with most of those that had magic. And this was a presence that he didn't recognize.

Now on guard Chad expanded his senses in order to get a better read on this unknown. The Fairy let out a sigh of relief when he detected no malicious intent from them. If fact he could only feel a sense of wonder.

With his curiosity piqued and making sure to keep part of his senses on Asuka, Chad left his bench in order to see who this mage was, only to catch a flash of red before something crashed into his chest.

Being built like the solid wall that he was, the collision didn't cause him to even flinch. As for the one that he collided with though, well they weren't as fortunate.

They bounced off his large frame with a distinctly feminine "yelp" and fell to the ground. Or they would've had Chad not caught them by their arm just inches before they could kiss the dirt. Once they were back to their feet he was able to see that it was a young woman that he had accidentally knocked over. Couldn't have been that much younger than himself really.

She was about average height and had rather pale skin with long, dark hair that reached all the way down to her waist and was pulled into two massive braids that were tied together behind her back. Her choice of clothing was...more than a bit on the revealing side. In fact Chad would say that it was extremely so.

She wore a red dress that hugged her _very_ shapely body, as she possessed what one would call a perfect hourglass figure. The dress was secured by halter-neck straps and did little to hide her shape, leaving most of her back, sides and a large portion of her cleavage exposed.

Even though the dress reached all the way down to her calves, the right part possessed a large gash that allowed her more freedom of movement, while also exposing most of her right leg. To finish off the look, she wore long gloves that matched the color of her dress and a pair of dark high-heel shoes.

Her eyes were both mesmerizing, yet slightly disturbing. They were reddish in color and were open a bit wider than most would perceive as normal, and she seemed to have perpetually raised eyebrows. With all of that added together, it gave her a slightly deranged appearance.

Realizing that he still had her by the arm and was now staring, Chad made sure that she was steady on her feet before letting go.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she answered and looked at him absently, a peculiar expression on her face. Almost like she wasn't particularly interested or worried about what was going on around her. There was a moment of awkward silence as the two stared at each other before she spoke up.

"Do you know where I can find Fairy Tail?"

The question caught Chad off guard. A moment later he realized that she was the mage that he had sensed just moments before.

"Are you looking to join?"

"No," she answered with a slight tilt of her head, "I heard people saying that a giant had joined their guild and wanted to see if it were true."

Ah, now he understood.

"I'm sorry, but that was just a figure of speech." At the confused look her received Chad elaborate further. "People tend to call those that are much taller than themselves a giant. It's just a nickname that people have given me since I joined the guild."

The woman became crestfallen, staring down at her feet. "I was hoping to see someone from home."

Now it was Chad's turn to look confused. "Why did you think that someone from your home would be at Fairy Tail?"

"I was raised in a village of Giants. I left a year or so ago to learn what it's like to be around people my size."

Chad gave a grunt in response. For some reason, He wasn't that surprised by this information. In fact he was more curious than anything.

"...what's it like? Living with Giants that is."

She appeared to be caught off guard by his question. "You believe me? Everyone I've told either thinks I'm crazy, or says I have an overactive imagination."

Chad thought back to all of the things he had been exposed to over the years. Gaining his powers. Learning about the truth of the afterlife. The loss of his home. "...compared to the things that I've seen and dealt with? A village of Giants isn't that hard to imagine."

The woman tilted her head, a perplexed expression on her face. This was the first time that someone had taken her seriously and had shown interest in learning about her home. She began to speak but was cut off when she felt a sharp tug on her dress.

Looking down Chad and the woman saw that it was Asuka, having moved over while they were conversing and was now beaming up at her.

"Hi, I'm Asuka! Your hair is really pretty!"

"...Cute," Chads brow quirked when the woman's hair unraveled itself and picked up the small child.

So her magic involved the manipulation of her hair? Not the weirdest ability he had encountered.

"Chad."

Turning her attention from the giggling girl that was playing with her hair, the woman gave him a gentle, closed eyed smile.

"Flare."

 **-End-**

 **Zrocker119:** **And I have introduced one of the smaller changes to the main canon of Fairy Tail. Yes, Flare will be joining Fairy Tail. Sorry if she seems a bit ooc, but I figured that sense she hasn't met anyone from Raven Tail, she'd be a little more on the not creepy and sadistic side of the spectrum.**

 **Next chapter will focus solely on Ichigo and his journey to uncover the secrets that are being held on this mysterious island.**

 **As always, I encourage you all to leave a review. A favorite or follow, maybe? Regardless thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time!**


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